WALES

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many special advisers were employed in his Department at each pay band on 30 November 2008; and what his Department's total expenditure on special advisers was in 2007-08.

Paul Murphy: The Government are committed to publishing an annual list detailing the number and costs of special advisers.
	Information for 2007-08 was published by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 99-102WS.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how much has been spent on  (a) departmental Christmas parties and  (b) staff entertainment in the last three years.

Paul Murphy: The Wales Office does not contribute to departmental parties or staff entertainment.

Mental Illness

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what assessment he has made of the recommendations relevant to his Department's policy responsibilities made in the Foresight report on Mental Capacity and Well-Being; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Murphy: The recommendations from The Foresight Project: Mental Capital and Wellbeing, as they apply to Wales, fall to the Welsh Assembly government for consideration.
	I understand that the Welsh Assembly welcomes this paper, as being in line with their public health and mental health policy agenda.
	I am advised the paper has been circulated to the Welsh Assembly Government's mental health Task and Finish group for consideration and discussion.

Queen Elizabeth II: Anniversaries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what plans his Department has to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Paul Murphy: The Wales Office worked closely with Buckingham Palace and the Welsh Assembly government on plans to mark Her Majesty the Queen's Golden jubilee in 2002 and looks forward to being similarly involved to mark the Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

TREASURY

Small Businesses

Clive Efford: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely effect on small businesses of the measures announced in the pre-Budget report.

Angela Eagle: The PBR announced new facilities for over £2 billion additional support for SMEs in accessing credit, more generous loss relief, a new HMRC support service, and deferral of the increase in the small companies rate of corporation tax.
	This is worth £1 billion of tax cuts, £2 billion in loan guarantees, along with £4 billion of European money—£7 billion in total.
	Since PBR HMRC's new support service has helped 6,250 businesses spread around £110 million worth of tax payments.

Small Businesses

Alison Seabeck: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effect on the economy of the measures to assist small businesses announced in the pre-Budget report.

Angela Eagle: The PBR announced new facilities for over £2 billion additional support for SMEs in accessing credit, more generous loss relief, a new HMRC support service, and deferral of the increase in the small companies rate of corporation tax.
	This is worth £1 billion of tax cuts, £2 billion in loan guarantees, along with £4 billion of European money—£7 billion in total.
	Since PBR HMRC's new support service has helped 6,250 businesses spread around £110 million worth of tax payments.

Small Businesses

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking to increase the supply of credit to small businesses.

Ian Pearson: In addition to the establishment of the Lending Panel, the Government also announced at PBR 2008 a package to assist small and medium enterprises facing credit constraints.
	This package included the establishment of the Small Business Finance Scheme, a Export Credits Guarantee Department scheme, and a number of other actions. When combined this package will facilitate over £2 billion of extra support to SME's experiencing short-term financial difficulties.

Small Businesses

Clive Betts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the likely effect on small businesses of the measures announced in the pre-Budget report.

Angela Eagle: The PBR announced new facilities for over £2 billion additional support for SMEs in accessing credit, more generous loss relief, a new HMRC support service, and deferral of the increase in the small companies rate of corporation tax.
	This is worth £1 billion of tax cuts, £2 billion in loan guarantees, along with £4 billion of European money—£7 billion in total.
	Since PBR HMRC's new support service has helped 6,250 businesses spread around £110 million worth of tax payments.

Government Finance

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the £5 billion additional value for money savings announced in the pre-Budget report are net of the cost of delivery.

Yvette Cooper: The pr-Budget report sets out plans for the net savings of £5 billion.

Government Finance

Angela Watkinson: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what his most recent estimate is of the levels of Government borrowing and debt; and if he will make a statement.

Yvette Cooper: Table B3 of the 2008 pre-Budget report sets out the Chancellor's projections for the level of Government borrowing and debt. The Government's will continue to support the economy through these difficult times. Over the medium-term, the Government's fiscal policy objective remains ensuring the sustainability of the public finances, in order to protect stability, employment and growth.

Global Fiscal Stimulus

Kerry McCarthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions he has had with his overseas counterparts on the potential for and practicality of delivering a global fiscal stimulus.

Ian Pearson: The Chancellor has had discussions with many international colleagues, including G20 and European finance ministers. The case for concerted fiscal action was endorsed by the leaders of the G20 on 15 November, and by European leaders on 12 December and many countries around the world have already implemented a fiscal stimulus.

Banks: Liquidity

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the operation of aspects of the pre-Budget report dealing with liquidity for banks.

Ian Pearson: The tripartite authorities are continually assessing the operation of measures targeted at improving liquidity in the financial system. The Bank of England's liquidity operations, including the Special Liquidity Scheme have been operating as intended.

Value Added Tax

Norman Baker: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the savings that will be made by a person earning  (a) £200,000 per annum and  (b) £20,000 per annum as a result of the reduction in the rate of value added tax to 15 per cent.

Stephen Timms: No such estimates have been made because such savings are more dependent on spending patterns, which vary widely, rather than on earnings.

Value Added Tax

Andrew MacKay: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what consideration he gave to increasing the rate of value added tax above 17.5 per cent. prior to his statement on the pre-Budget report.

Stephen Timms: As both the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer have already said in this House, a large number of options on just about every aspect of tax and spending were considered in the run-up to the pre-Budget report. The Chancellor announced that while VAT would comedown to 15 per cent., it would return to 17.5 per cent, at the end of 2009.

Personal Debt

Simon Hughes: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the level of personal debt at the beginning of  (a) 2008 and  (b) 2009.

Ian Pearson: The Office for National Statistics publishes data on levels of personal debt. The Government do not publish forecasts for personal debt.

Housing

Danny Alexander: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what steps he is taking as part of his fiscal stimulus package to support local authorities in their spending on housing.

Angela Eagle: The fiscal stimulus package included £250 million for Decent Home improvements and £175 million for major repairs to council housing in England.

Bank Services: Small Businesses

Ann Winterton: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of levels of lending by the banking sector to small-and-medium-sized enterprises.

Angela Eagle: The Chancellor announced at pre-Budget report 2008 that the Government are establishing a Lending Panel, bringing together Government, regulators, lenders, trade bodies and consumer groups to monitor lending to both households and businesses. The new panel is monitoring lending, and will encourage and drive up best practice in lending decisions and treatment of borrowers.

Banks: Iceland

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  what discussions he has had with the governments of  (a) Iceland and  (b) Guernsey on Landsbanki Guernsey;
	(2)  what meetings he or his officials  (a) have had and  (b) plan to have with representatives of the depositors of Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander Isle of Man;
	(3)  what meetings he or his officials  (a) have had and  (b) plan to have with representatives of the depositors of Landbanski Guernsey;
	(4)  what responsibilities he has to represent the Isle of Man government in its discussions with the Icelandic government on Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander Isle of Man; what his remit for such discussions is; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  what responsibilities he has to represent the Guernsey government in its discussions with the Icelandic government on Landsbanki; what his remit for such discussions is in respect of Landsbanki Guernsey; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  what discussions he has had with the governments of  (a) Iceland and  (b) the Isle of Man on Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander Isle of Man.

Ian Pearson: Arrangements for depositors in banks in the Isle of Man and Guernsey are a matter for the Governments of the Isle of Man and Guernsey. Deposits with Kaupthing, Singer and Friedlander, Isle of Man, will be subject to the Isle of Man Deposit Compensation Scheme.
	In line with usual constitutional arrangements, the UK Government will represent the Crown Dependencies in its negotiations with the Icelandic authorities.
	Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.

Banks: Iceland

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what plans he has to meet representatives from the Government of Isle of Man to discuss the Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander banking collapse in the next two months.

Ian Pearson: Arrangements for depositors in banks in the Isle of Man are a matter for the Government of the Isle of Man. Deposits with Kaupthing, Singer and Friedlander, Isle of Man, will be subject to the Isle of Man Deposit Compensation Scheme.
	Treasury Ministers and officials have meetings and discussions with a wide variety of organisations in the public and private sectors as part of the process of policy development and delivery. As was the case with previous Administrations, it is not the Government's practice to provide details of all such meetings and discussions.

Banks: Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer with reference to the answer of 29 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1096W, on banks: pay, if he will place in the Library a copy of each of the letters sent by the Chief Executive of the Financial Services Authority to the chief executives of major banks and building societies on 13 October 2008.

Ian Pearson: The letter sent by the chief executive of the Financial Services Authority to chief executive officers on 13 October 2008 has been published by the Financial Services Authority. It is accessible at:
	www.fsa.gov.uk

Banks: Regulation

Alan Beith: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanisms there are to protect depositors in UK banks and building societies whose accounts are transferred to financial institutions outside UK jurisdiction without their consent.

Ian Pearson: Accounts with banks or building societies in the UK would normally only be transferred to another authorised person able to accept deposits in the UK. The depositors would then be protected by the UK Financial Services Compensation Scheme or the deposit-guarantee scheme of an EEA credit institution's home state.

Credit Rating: EU Action

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the Government's policy is on the proposals on the registration of credit rating agencies set out in the draft EU Directive on Credit Rating Agencies.

Ian Pearson: The Government support registration of credit rating agencies. The Commission's proposals are now being discussed in council working groups.

Departmental Disabled Staff

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what conclusions his Department has reached in fulfilment of its duty under section 3.111 of the statutory code of practice of the disability equality duty.

Angela Eagle: In fulfilment of the duty under section 3.111 of the statutory code of practice of the disability equality duty the Treasury will publish a report, in 2009, when it publishes its Single Equality Scheme. The Single Equality Scheme will amalgamate the Treasury's three current equality schemes on (race, disability and gender).

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will make it his policy to ensure that those temporary and permanent employees at the same grade in his Department who are paid at an hourly rate are paid at the same rate.

Angela Eagle: Both temporary and permanent staff are placed on the appropriate pay band for their grade. The same bands apply equally to permanent and temporary staff.

Economic and Monetary Union

William Hague: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  on which dates the  (a) Chief Secretary to the Treasury,  (b) Financial Secretary to the Treasury,  (c) Minister of State at the Treasury,  (d) Economic Secretary to the Treasury,  (e) Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury and  (f) the Financial Services Secretary (A) last met the President of the European Commission and (B) spoke to the President of the European Commission; and whether the UK's prospective membership of the Euro was discussed on each occasion;
	(2)  when Treasury officials last discussed Britain's prospective membership of the Euro with the European Commission; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: Treasury Ministers discuss a wide range of issues with their counterparts in other countries, as well as the European Commission. The Government's policy on membership of the single currency is unchanged. It remains as set out by the Chancellor in his statement to the House of Commons in October 1997, and again in the Chancellor's statement on the five tests assessment in June 2003.

Economic and Monetary Union

William Hague: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he expects the United Kingdom to meet the Maastricht criteria for membership of the Euro in  (a) 2009,  (b) 2010 and  (c) 2011.

Ian Pearson: The latest Government forecasts for the economy and the public finances were published in the pre-Budget report on 24 November 2008.

Economic and Monetary Union

Bob Spink: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what discussions his Department has had with the European Commission on possible UK membership of the European single currency in the last two years.

Ian Pearson: Treasury Ministers discuss a wide range of issues with their counterparts in other countries, as well as the European Commission. The Government's policy on membership of the single currency in unchanged. It remains as set out by the Chancellor in his statement to the House of Commons in October 1997, and again in the Chancellor's statement on the five tests assessment in June 2003.

Economic and Monetary Union

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent discussions he has had with his colleagues in the Eurozone on membership of the single currency.

Ian Pearson: I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave the right hon. and learned Member for Devizes (Mr. Ancram) on 25 November,  Official Report, column 1325W.

Excise Duties: Alcoholic Drinks

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much duty on  (a) beer,  (b) wine and  (c) spirits changed in percentage terms in each year since 1997.

Angela Eagle: Rates of alcohol duty since 1995 are published on the UK Trade Information website:
	www.uktradeinfo.com.

Excise Duties: Motor Vehicles

John Barrett: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether his Department plans to adjust the rate of vehicle mileage allowances in line with fuel prices.

Angela Eagle: Decisions on approved mileage allowance payments (AMAPs) rates are taken as part of the Budget and pre-Budget report processes.

Financial Inclusion Fund

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the budget of the Financial Inclusion Fund is in the 2008-09 and the each of the next three financial years.

Ian Pearson: The Financial Inclusion Fund is worth £130 million in 2008-11. The allocations over this time are:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Financial inclusion fund allocation 
			 2008-09 42.996 
			 2009-10 43.457 
			 2010-11 43.547 
			 Total 130

Gold and Foreign Exchange Reserves

Robert Key: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many tonnes of gold have been sold from UK reserves in each year since May 1997; what revenue was received from sales in each year; and if he will estimate the revenue which each sale would have generated at current gold prices.

Ian Pearson: 395 tonnes of gold have been sold since 1997: 75 tonnes in 1999; 150 tonnes in 2000; 130 tonnes in 2001; and 40 tonnes in 2002. The date of, the amount of gold sold and the allotment price at each of the 17 gold auctions is set out in the following table.
	The total proceeds from the sales were around US$3.5 billion. At the morning fix on 15 December 2008 the total value of this gold was US$10.5 billion. The gold sales between July 1999 and March 2002 reflected a prudent decision to reduce over-exposure to a single asset in the net reserves portfolio.
	
		
			  Date  Amount sold (ounces)  Allotment price ($/ounce) 
			 6 July 1999 804,000 261.20 
			 21 September 1999 804,000 255.75 
			 29 November 1999 804,000 293.50 
			 25 January 2000 804,400 289.50 
			 21 March 2000 804,400 285.25 
			 23 May 2000 803,600 275.25 
			 12 July 2000 804,000 279.75 
			 19 September 2000 803,600 270.60 
			 7 November 2000 803,600 264.30 
			 23 January 2001 803,600 268.00 
			 14 March 2001 803,600 266.00 
			 15 May 2001 644,400 268.00 
			 11 July 2001 643,600 267.25 
			 12 September 2001 644,400 280.00 
			 27 November 2001 644,400 273.50 
			 16 January 2002 643,600 283.50 
			 5 March 2002 644,400 296.50 
			
			 Total sold/average price 12,707,600 274.95

Income Tax

Michael Meacher: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the  (a) average and the marginal rate of income tax is for each man who is a single earner with a wife and two children with earnings of (i) £10,000 a year and (ii) within each £5,000 band above £10,000 up to £200,000; how many such persons are in each income band announced in the Pre-Budget Report 2008; and how much such a person in each income band will have (A) as additional income and (B) to pay in tax and duties as a consequence of the measures.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 8 December 2008
	Income tax liabilities by income band for 2008-09 are provided in HM Revenue and Customs Statistics Table 2.5:
	http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/stats/income_tax/table2-5.pdf.
	The effect of tax measures announced in the PBR by income band is provided in the Government's response to the Treasury Select Committee's Thirteenth Report for 2007-08, 'Budget measures and Low Income Households', available at:
	www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmtreasy.htm.

Income Tax: Tax Rates and Bands

Frank Field: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many individual taxpayers affected by the withdrawal of the 10 pence starting rate for income tax will pay more income tax than they did before the withdrawal of the rate when the steps announced in  (a) Budgets 2007 and 2008,  (b) the Chancellor's statement dated 13 May, on income tax and  (c) the Pre-Budget Report 2008 are taken into account.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 11 December 2008
	The personal tax measures announced by the Chancellor in the 2008 pre-Budget report will permanently reduce the number of households paying more net tax as a result of the Budget 2007 direct tax and benefit changes from 5.3 million originally to 500,000 in 2011-12. The 13 May increase in personal allowances for this year reduced the number of households paying more net tax from these changes to 1.1 million in 2008-09.
	The Government's response to the Treasury Committee's report 'Budget Measures and Low Income Households' available at
	www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmtreasy.htm
	explained in answer to recommendation 9, and at the start of Annexes A and B, why it is not possible to provide individual analysis of the Budget 2007 direct tax and benefit changes.

Interest Rates

Mark Harper: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to his comments of 15 December 2008,  Official Report, column 856, in the debate on the Queen's Speech, when the Bank of England base rate was last at 17 per cent.

Ian Pearson: Historical data on bank rates are available from the Bank of England's website.

Members: Correspondence

Michael Spicer: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire, dated 31 October 2008, on savings (PO reference: 1/62564/2008);
	(2)  when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 28 October 2008 on financial protection for individuals invested in the Icelandic bank, Kaupthing Singer and Friedlander;
	(3)  when he plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for West Worcestershire of 21 October 2008 on the Icelandic bank, Kaupthing Edge (PO Ref: 1/62030/2008).

Ian Pearson: The Financial Services Secretary very much regrets not being in a position to reply to the hon. Member and will do so as soon as possible.

Mortgages

Anne Moffat: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent assessment he has made of the services to mortgage holders being offered by banks recapitalised with public funds.

Ian Pearson: On 8 October this year, the Government announced a comprehensive package of measures to support stability of the financial system, protect ordinary savers, depositors, businesses and borrowers, and to safeguard the interests of the taxpayer.
	As part of their investment, the Government have agreed with the banks supported by the recapitalisation scheme a range of commitments. Details are available at:
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/press_105_08.htm
	These include agreements to make available affordable products during this period of global turbulence in financial markets, help individuals struggling with their mortgage payments stay in their homes and support the expansion of financial capability initiatives.
	UK Financial Investments Ltd. (UKFI), an arm's length company, will oversee the conditions attached to subscribing to the Government's recapitalisation fund.

Paymaster-General: Correspondence

Clare Short: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when the Paymaster-General plans to reply to the letter from the hon. Member for Birmingham, Ladywood of 24 September 2008 sent on behalf of Asghar Khan, a constituent.

Ian Pearson: The right hon. Lady's letter was addressed to the Paymaster General at the Cabinet Office. The Treasury has obtained a copy of the letter from the right hon. Lady's office and a Treasury Minister will write to her about this matter as soon as possible.

Public Expenditure

Justine Greening: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  which Government departments will be exempt from the allocation of the £5 billion of additional recoverable savings under the increased cross-Government value for money target for 2010-11, referred to in paragraph 6.32, page 122 of the Pre-Budget Report 2008;
	(2)  by what criteria the £5 billion of additional recoverable savings under the increased cross-Government value for money target for 2010-11, referred to in paragraph 6.32, page 122 of the Pre-Budget Report 2008, will be allocated.

Yvette Cooper: HM Treasury will work with Departments between now and Budget 2009 to agree the departmental allocation of the additional £5 billion value for money target announced in the pre-Budget report.

Public Expenditure: Scotland

David Mundell: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer for what reasons the factual paper on the Barnett Formula was not laid before Parliament in accordance with the timetable originally planned.

Yvette Cooper: holding 17 December 2008
	No decision has been made yet on the date of publication of the factual paper on the Barnett formula.

Public Finance

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will provide a breakdown by principal policy decision of the increase in cyclically adjusted net borrowing by 4.3 per cent. of gross domestic product from the estimated outturn in 2007-08 to the estimate in 2009-10, as shown in the Pre-Budget Report table B4.

Yvette Cooper: The estimated cost of all policy decisions announced in the 2008 pre-Budget report can be found on Table B5 of Annexe B (p 194).

Public Sector Debt

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what changes there have been in projections of  (a) gross public debt on a Maastricht treaty basis and  (b) net public debt since the pre-Budget report projections resulting from (i) the use of automatic stabilisers, (ii) policy changes announced in the pre-Budget report and (iii) other causes.

Yvette Cooper: Projections for gross public debt on a Maastricht treaty basis and public sector net debt can be found in Table B10 in £ billion, and Table B11 as a percentage of GDP of the 2008 pre-Budget report.
	The costs of policy changes announced in the 2008 pre-Budget report can be found in Table B5 in £ million. The effects of automatic stabilisers are shown in Chart 2.3 of the 2008 pre-Budget report.
	In line with previous practice, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will provide an update on the public finances at Budget 2009.

Tax Avoidance

David Taylor: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what recent representations HM Revenue and Customs has received on the resources required to combat tax avoidance by major corporations.

Stephen Timms: The Department receives representations on a wide range of subjects.
	As recommended by the Varney Review of Links with Large Business published in November 2006, the Department takes a risk-based approach to its largest customers, focusing resources on issues and businesses which are judged to be of higher risk.
	The Department continues to monitor its assessments to ensure that sufficient resources are focused on the most important and difficult risks.

Taxation: Business

Francis Maude: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will place in the Library a full copy of the advice produced by the Civil Service for Ministers dated 22 May 1997 on consideration of options - company taxation that was released in part by his Department on 30 March 2007.

Ian Pearson: The advice produced by officials to Ministers, dated 22 May 1997, was released by HM Treasury on 30 March 2007, in full response to a freedom of information (FOI) request. A subsequent parliamentary debate ensured that the matter received full consideration.

Taxation: Hotels

Mark Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he plans to announce a decision on the value added tax liability of unitised hotel projects following his review of the matter.

Stephen Timms: Officials are looking into the VAT treatment of various hotel investment schemes with a view to providing clarity and certainty for the parties involved. The arrangements are complex, they are not identical in nature, and this has required detailed analysis on the part of HM Revenue and Customs. Officials will be communicating their conclusions to hotel management companies and investors early in the new year.

Taxation: Small Businesses

Mark Oaten: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will extend the qualification period for the Business Payment Support Service to the third quarter of 2008.

Stephen Timms: holding answer 15 December 2008
	The Business Payment Support Service will help businesses in temporary financial difficulties, as a result of the current economic conditions, spread their tax payments over a timetable they can afford. There is no qualification period for the service. If HM Revenue and Customs has already contacted a business about an overdue payment or if they already have a payment arrangement with the Department, they should call the office which originally contacted them.

VAT: Small Businesses

Julie Kirkbride: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many businesses have applied to defer their VAT payments in the latest period for which figures are available; and how many such applications have been granted.

Stephen Timms: I am able to provide data on cases handled by the new Business Payment Support Service. The information requested is not available for HMRC as a whole.
	As part of a substantial package of support the Chancellor announced in PBR that HMRC had introduced a new Business Payment Support Service. Businesses in temporary financial difficulty will be offered a fast and streamlined service for arranging to pay their HMRC tax bill to a timetable they can afford.
	The service has been up and running for just under three weeks. To 11 December, the service has taken over 15,000 calls and agreed over 6,200 time to pay arrangements worth over £108 million. Almost 60 per cent. of the cases relate to businesses being granted time to pay VAT debts worth over £71 million.

VAT: Small Businesses

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what assessment he has made of the effects on small businesses of administering the temporary change to the rate of value added tax announced in the pre-Budget report.

Stephen Timms: The impact assessment for the temporary reduction in the standard rate of VAT can be found on the HM Treasury website at
	http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/d/pbr08_vat_1845.pdf.
	This contains the small firms impact test.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

Departmental Databases

Mark Hoban: To ask the Solicitor-General what databases the Law Officers' Departments  (a) own and  (b) maintain.

Vera Baird: The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has a 10 year Public Finance Initiative Partnership with LogicaCMG to modernise information technology within the Service. This is known as the COMPASS Programme.
	The contract with LogicaCMG covers the provision, support and maintenance of the hardware and software applications used by the CPS. This includes: the case management databases; the COMPASS Case Management System; the Management Information System; the Witness Management System; and the Payroll, Graduated Counsel Fee Scheme and the Corporate Information Systems. The corporate databases provided by suppliers outside of the COMPASS contract are the Finance and Human Resources databases.
	The other databases in use by small numbers of HQ users are:
	
		
			  Database  Use 
			 Respond To track correspondence 
			 CPS Direct Rota To rota CPS Direct crown prosecutor coverage 
			 Teleware Call distribution system for CPS Direct 
			 Gateway 2000 Document numbering system for distributing documents nationally 
			 Unicorn Online library loans system 
			 Druid Record of archived cases requiring review 
			 ReMS Storage details of long-term interest cases 
			 FMBC Tracker Facilities Management Business Centre (FMBC) database to plan and track progress of building maintenance 
			 MAB FMBC management of Area budgets database to monitor area building maintenance costs 
			 FMBC Project FMBC database used by regional project managers to track facilities management projects 
			 STC Navigator To analyse energy usage 
		
	
	The suite of desktop applications provided to all users through the COMPASS contract includes Microsoft Access database software for the development of databases for individual use.
	The CPS owns the data contained within its databases.
	The following table shows the databases  (a) owned and  (b) maintained by the Serious Fraud Office:
	
		
			  Database  Description 
			 Docman Document management system holding scanned evidence that forms part of SFO cases (also cases closed and pending). 
			 DCS2 Document management system holding descriptions of evidence that forms part of SFO cases (also cases closed and pending). 
			 Introspect Document management system holding scanned evidence that forms part of SFO cases (also cases closed and pending). 
			 Alphascan Document management system holding scanned evidence that forms part of SFO cases (also cases closed and pending). 
			 DBTextworks Document management system holding evidence that forms part of SFO cases (also cases closed and pending). 
			 Valid Archive Document management system holding evidence that forms part of SFO cases (also cases closed and pending). 
			 Registry Database Database used to register files across the organisation. 
			 Case Tracking Database containing summary information of all SFO cases, past and present. 
			 Section 2 Register List of all Section 2 Notices. 
			 Efin Database used to process Purchase Ledger and General Ledger transactions for the SFO. 
			 TRENT List of staff (permanent, temporary and leavers) and all related personal details. 
			 Infobasis Database containing information about staff training (please note that this system is not fully operational yet). 
			 Task Management System List of tasks related to each case and their allocation to case team members (not used on every case). 
			 Adlib Database containing information about all books in the library catalogue. 
			 Access Control Database Facilitates access to all areas of the SFO. 
			 Electronic Visitor System Facilitates access to visitors to all areas of the SFO. 
			 Analyst Notebook Investigation tool used to help visualise transactions. 
			 Healthwise Health and Safety and Risk Assessment Training. 
			 Casewise Planning tool used by Case Management Reform. 
			 Touchpaper Records details of IT help desk calls and inventory. 
			 LanDesk Hardware inventory and management. 
			 ActiveXperts Server monitoring. 
			 Norad Surveillance Database monitoring. 
			 Rightfax Faxes. 
			 ArcServe Backup and restore management. 
			 Active Directory User management. 
			 Ms Exchange E-mails. 
			 Websense Internet activity monitor. 
		
	
	The Treasury Solicitor's Department:
	 (a) Owns the following databases :
	
		
			  Database name  Function  Database management system 
			 High profile case list High Profile case List MySQL 
			 ODQ Subset of Datix Reporting tool for time recording and billing MySQL 
			 BVFAIS Legacy data from FAIS (the old Bona Vacantia database) to be kept for 40 Years MySQL 
			 Client Database Client Information MySQL 
			 European Database Judgments and Observations about European matters MySQL 
			 IJRT Immigration Judicial review team MS Access 
			 Costs Manage costs distribution MS Access 
			 Paperroom database Tracks physical files MS Access 
			 GPL database Ex GPL (Government Property Lawyers) data Very old Datix MySQL 
		
	
	 (b) Maintains the following databases:
	
		
			  SQL Server Database Management system 
			  System  Function  Version 
			 Password Safe Electronic Password Maintenance 2000 Enterprise Edition SP4 
			 Archive Manager Back Up and Security facility for email 2005 Enterprise Edition RTM 
			 Tracklt Helpdesk 2005 Enterprise Edition RTM 
			 BigFix Software distribution management 2005 Standard Edition SP2 
			 QFM Facilities Management 2000 Standard Edition RTM 
			 QTP Test software 2000 Enterprise Edition RTM 
			 CommVault Backup 2005 Express Edition 
			 E-Policy Orchestrator Security management MSDE 
			 iPatch Manager Secure Patch management MSDE 
			 Infra New Service Desk 2005 Enterprise Edition RTM 
			 ForeFront Network security 2005 Standard Edition SP2 
			 System Centre Configuration Manager Microsoft control centre 2005 Standard Edition SP2 and SP1 
			 Stream Risk Management software 2005 Standard Edition SP2 
			 Image Deployment Server Media Distribution MSDE 
			 SharePoint File and information repository 2005 Enterprise Edition SP1 
			 SecureWave PC security 2005 Standard Edition SP2 
			 VMWare Virtual Centre Virtualisation control 2000 Personal Edition SP4 
			 HP Jet Admin Printer management 2005 Express Edition 
			 Monitoring Server Network traffic monitoring 2005 Workgroup Edition SP1 
			 Vantage Network Checking 2005 Standard Edition SP1 
		
	
	
		
			  Oracle Database Management system 
			  System  Function  Version 
			 E-Financials Accounting Oracle 8i, 81, l0gRAC 
			 R/KYV Document management Oracle l0g 
			 Carpe Diem Litigation and European Time recording Oracle 9i, l0g 
			 Grid Control Infrastructure management Oracle l0g 
		
	
	
		
			  Informix Database Management system 
			  System  Function  Version 
			 Datix Billing Informix IDS 7.31 
			 Tsolacd Automated Call Distribution Informix IDS 10 
		
	
	The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office owns, and is responsible for maintaining, the data held on each of the databases detailed as follows, although the administration may be outsourced to a third party.
	1. SOLAR—case management database
	2. SUMMATION—document storage
	3. CASESTAT—summary of case data
	4. HERMES—HR information
	5. E-Financials—Financial
	6. PEOPLEFINDER—Internal directory
	HM Crown Prosecution Service Inspectorate has no databases which it maintains.

Departmental Higher Education

Mark Hoban: To ask the Solicitor-General how many staff in the Law Officers' Departments undertook courses funded by the Department for  (a) undergraduate degrees,  (b) postgraduate degrees or diplomas,  (c) Masters degrees,  (d) MBA degrees and  (e) PhD degrees in the last 12 months, broken down by pay band.

Vera Baird: The table for the Crown Prosecution Service is as follows:
	
		
			  Qualification Type  Pay Band Al  Pay Band A2  Pay Band Bl  Pay Band B2  Pay Band B3  Pay Band CI  Pay Band C2  Pay Band C3  Pay Band C4  Pay Band D  Pay Band E  Pay Band SCS 
			 Undergraduate Degree 8 23 27 19 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 
			 Postgraduate Degree/ Diploma 5 27 32 30 2 Nil Nil Nil Nil 2 Nil Nil 
			 Masters Degree Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 1 Nil 1 Nil Nil 
			 MBA Degree Nil
			 PHD Degree Nil
		
	
	The table for the Serious Fraud Office is as follows:
	
		
			  Qualification Type  Pay Band EO  Pay Band HEO  Pay Band SEO 
			 Undergraduate Degree Nil Nil Nil 
			 Postgraduate Degree/ Diploma 8 1 3 
			 Masters Degree Nil Nil Nil 
			 MBA Degree Nil Nil Nil 
			 PHD Degree Nil Nil Nil 
		
	
	The table for the Revenue Customs and Prosecutions Office is as follows:
	
		
			  Qualification Type  Pay Band AO  Pay Band EO  Pay Band HEO  Pay Band SEO 
			 Undergraduate Degree Nil 2 Nil Nil 
			 Postgraduate Degree/ Diploma 1 13 1 Nil 
			 Masters Degree Nil Nil 1 Nil 
			 MBA Degree Nil Nil Nil 1 
			 PHD Degree Nil
		
	
	The table for the Treasury Solicitor's Department is as follows:
	
		
			  Qualification Type  Pay Band AO  Pay Band PS  Pay Band EO  Pay Band HEO  Pay Band SEO  Pay Band 7 
			 Undergraduate Degree 1 Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 
			 Postgraduate Degree/ Diploma 6 1 2 Nil Nil Nil 
			 Masters Degree Nil Nil Nil Nil Nil 3 
			 MBA Degree Nil  
			 PHD Degree Nil  
		
	
	Two members of staff have been funded by HMCPSI for an MBA degree in the last 12 months. They are both Grade 7.

Departmental Internet

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Solicitor-General with reference to the answer of 4 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 336-37W, on Government Departments: information and communications technology, which IP addresses are used by  (a) the Law Officers' Departments and  (b) computers in the offices of their (i) Ministers and (ii) communications officials.

Vera Baird: To help defend against electronic attack, it is standard good information security practice for corporate IT systems not to publish internal IP addresses. When accessing internet websites, the IP addresses of all of the computers on the Law Officers' Department's internal office IT system are hidden behind the following IP addresses which are publicly available—195.92.40.49 and 62.25.106.209. These IP addresses are shared with other Government Departments that use the Government Secure Intranet.

Departmental Temporary Employment

Mark Hoban: To ask the Solicitor-General with reference to the answer of 28 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 984-86W, on Law Officers' Department: temporary employment, how many staff were recruited through each company in each year; and for how long on average staff recruited through these companies worked for the Department in each year.

Vera Baird: The information requested is not recorded centrally by any of the Law Officer's Departments. Therefore it could be obtained only by the extraction of every contract for each temporary member of staff employed over the last five years and would incur disproportionate cost.

Proceeds of Crime: Civil Proceedings

Owen Paterson: To ask the Solicitor-General what consideration the Crown Prosecution Service gave to including reference to the use of civil recovery powers in its Memorandum of Understanding with the Association of Chief Police Officers on pursuing criminal assets.

Vera Baird: A service level agreement (SLA) between the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), dealing with applications under the Proceeds of Crime Act, was signed in November 2002 and predates the granting of civil recovery powers to the CPS.
	Existing referral processes from CPS staff to headquarters do not require any amendment to the SLA. In the event that police investigators are trained to undertake free standing civil recovery investigations, the SLA will have to be revisited.

Proceeds of Crime: Civil Proceedings

Owen Paterson: To ask the Solicitor-General what steps have been taken to facilitate the  (a) Crown Prosecution Service,  (b) the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland,  (c) the Serious Fraud Office and  (d) the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office discharging new responsibilities for civil recovery action; what funding has been provided to each to reflect these new responsibilities; and how many (i) lawyers and (ii) investigations have been employed by each to discharge such functions.

Vera Baird: The information is as follows:
	 (a) The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) staff across all 42 CPS areas have been asked to refer potential civil recovery cases to the Proceeds of Crime Delivery Unit in CPS headquarters for consideration. Cases to be dealt with by the CPS are passed to the Central Confiscation Unit of the Organised Crime Division, which currently undertakes asset recovery and other civil work in the High Court, and has been given responsibility for civil recovery actions. Other cases are passed to the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
	No additional funding has been provided to the CPS to reflect these new responsibilities. However, the Home Office Recovered Assets Incentive Scheme has been amended to enable the CPS to benefit in respect of successful civil recovery actions.
	No additional lawyers or investigators have yet been specifically recruited by the CPS to undertake civil recovery work.
	 (b) The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) has been in discussion with SOCA to develop a memorandum of understanding to provide advice and assistance between the PPS and SOCA including arrangements to deal with civil recovery cases. In the short term, SOCA is responsible for civil recovery. The PPS remains responsible for criminal confiscation following conviction.
	To date, no new funding has been provided. No additional lawyers have been recruited to discharge these functions. There have been no investigations in Northern Ireland conducted by the PPS.
	 (c) The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) recently completed an in-depth review of its approach to all aspects of proceeds of crime activity. This review resulted in a number of recommendations to the director, who has since formed a dedicated Proceeds of Crime Team. The structure of this team is being finalised, with resources being drawn from across the organisation. The team will be fully operational by April 2009.
	The team will be responsible for conducting civil recovery investigations in suitable cases. Once the team has achieved accreditation through the National Policing Improvement Agency, they will have the necessary investigative powers to conduct civil recovery investigations under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002. At present, there are no resources dedicated to civil recovery investigations within the SFO.
	The civil recovery settlement with Balfour Beatty plc. in October this year, which brought in £2.5 million for the Government, approximately £1 million has been made available to the SFO to be invested in asset recovery work. No additional funding has been provided to the SFO in respect of civil recovery work and the team is being funded through the Asset Recovery Incentivisation Scheme.
	 (d) To date, Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office have not instituted any civil recovery proceedings. No additional funding has been allocated for this work and any such activity would be funded from existing resources.
	No staff have been specifically employed to discharge these particular responsibilities.

Proceeds of Crime: Civil Proceedings

Owen Paterson: To ask the Solicitor-General how many of the  (a) investigators and  (b) lawyers employed by the (i) Crown Prosecution Service, (ii) the Public Prosecution Office in Northern Ireland, (iii) the Serious Fraud Office and (iv) the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office have received specific training in civil recovery investigations and litigation in the first six months of this financial year; how many civil recovery investigations were commenced by each agency in that period; in how many such cases assets have been restrained; and what the value of such assets is.

Vera Baird: The information is as follows:
	(i) The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) does not employ any investigators for civil recovery work. Two senior lawyers have been involved in preparing the CPS for the application of these new powers.
	The CPS has considered three potential civil recovery cases since April. Two were considered not suitable for civil recovery and one is now being taken forward abroad through mutual legal assistance.
	(ii) No training in civil recovery matters has been delivered during the first six months of the financial year.
	The Public Prosecution Service (PPS) have not commenced any civil recovery investigations during this period and consequently no assets have been restrained by PPS.
	(iii) Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigators and lawyers attend seminars and conferences on civil recovery as part of their continuing professional development.
	The SFO has not commenced any civil recovery investigations within the specified period. The first civil recovery settlement was reached with Balfour Beatty plc. in October this year. No assets were restrained in this case.
	(iv) Five lawyers within Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office's (RCPO) asset forfeiture division attended training on confiscation and civil recovery in June 2008.
	RCPO has not instituted any civil recovery investigations in this financial year, therefore no assets have been restrained on this basis.

Proceeds of Crime: Civil Proceedings

Owen Paterson: To ask the Solicitor-General what plans the Serious Fraud Office has for action in civil recovery; and when she expects these to be implemented.

Vera Baird: The Director of the Serious Fraud Office has encouraged all staff to consider the full range of prosecutorial tools when assessing the appropriate disposal of a case, including civil recovery orders.
	The Law Officers' Departments will continue working closely together to consider and develop appropriate policy guidance for use of these orders over the next year.

Proceeds of Crime: Civil Proceedings

Owen Paterson: To ask the Solicitor-General what budget allocation has been made for civil recovery work in the Revenue and Customs Prosecution Office in  (a) 2008-09 and  (b) 2009-10.

Vera Baird: In RCPO no budget allocation has been made for civil recovery work for either 2008-09 or 2009-10. Funding is to be provided from our existing resources.

Proceeds of Crime: Civil Proceedings

Owen Paterson: To ask the Solicitor-General what arrangements have been put in place in the Crown Prosecution Service to enable the Service to discharge its newly acquired responsibilities for civil recovery; when arrangements will be implemented; and what budget has been allocated for civil recovery work in (a) 2008-09 and (b) 2009-10.

Vera Baird: Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) staff across all 42 CPS areas have been asked to refer all potential civil recovery cases to the Proceeds of Crime Delivery Unit (POCDU) within CPS headquarters for consideration. POCDU considers a number of routes for potential civil recovery cases. Where the case meets the legal requirements for civil recovery and appears viable, it will either be referred to the Central Confiscation Unit within CPS headquarters or to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). SOCA has agreed to consider civil recovery referrals from the CPS for a period of three years on the same basis as the former Assets Recovery Agency (ARA).
	No discrete budget has been allocated for civil recovery work either across CPS areas, or within the Central Confiscation Unit. Civil recovery has been mainstreamed alongside other asset recovery work. No funding has been provided to the CPS for 2008-09 or 2009-10, however, the Home Office Recovered Assets Incentive Scheme has been amended to enable the CPS to benefit in respect of successful civil recovery actions.

LEADER OF THE HOUSE

Computing for Labour

Francis Maude: To ask the Leader of the House pursuant to the written ministerial statement of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, column 72WS, correcting the answer of 11 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1129W, 
	(1)  whether hon. Members from parties other than the Labour Party are able to subscribe to Computing for Labour's services under the terms of its agreement with the House authorities;
	(2)  what the evidential basis was for the original calculation of expenditure on Computing for Labour;
	(3)  what representations her Office received from  (a) the Labour Party and  (b) Computing for Labour following the publication of the original answer;
	(4)  if she will publish the individual expenditure by each hon. Member on payments to Computing for Labour in 2007-08.

Chris Bryant: The House authorities have no agreement with Computing for Labour to provide services to Members of Parliament. Hon. Members subscribe independently to Computing for Labour (CFL) for various services related to their duties as Members of Parliament. They are able to claim for such costs against their parliamentary allowances where they relate to parliamentary duties.
	The amounts paid to CFL are for subscriptions for software that is used for Members' parliamentary duties dealing with correspondence from constituents and other casework. As I outlined in the written ministerial statement of 11 December 2008,  Official Report, column 72WS, Members typically claim for an annual membership of £50. Most other claims are for £100 for the caseworker casework management system; £199 for related training; and £235 a year for relevant IT support via a support line.
	It is entirely a matter for Computing for Labour whether it is prepared to accept commissions from hon. Members who are not members of the Labour Party.
	The answer of 11 November 2008 was incorrect because the information was incorrectly provided by the Department of Resources, which inadvertently added data from an incorrect account code in the course of extracting and collating expenditure data from the House financial system. The Leader received no representations from the Labour party or from CFL following the publication of the original incorrect answer. As soon as the Department of Resources spotted the mistake the Member for Horsham's office were notified.
	In 2007-08, 228 hon. Members paid a total of £61,188 to Computing for Labour through the House of Commons. Other Members may have met costs directly and claimed reimbursement. The sums involved in the latter circumstance are not available.
	It is not the House's practice to disclose specific details of individual Members' expenditure.

Right of Search

Dai Davies: To ask the Leader of the House whether she was informed by the Serjeant-at-Arms that the police who searched the Parliamentary Office of the hon. Member for Ashford on 27 November 2008 did not have a search warrant.

Harriet Harman: I had no knowledge of the search before it took place, nor the processes under which the search was carried out.

Right of Search

Lynne Jones: To ask the Leader of the House if she will make a statement on the right of search of parliamentary premises.

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Leader of the House if she will make a statement on the right of search of parliamentary premises.

Harriet Harman: Access to the offices of hon. Members is not a matter for the Leader of the House. However the matter is covered in Mr. Speaker's protocol sent to individual hon. Members on 8 December 2008. The House has decided to set up a Committee to review this matter.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Creativity and Business International Network

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport which organisations were involved with the branding for the Creativity and Business International Network; and how much was paid to each organisation.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 11 December 2008
	 Edelman—which is employed by the Department to support the Creativity and Business International Network—engaged the services of ML-N to create the c&binet brand.

Departmental Correspondence

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many  (a) letters and  (b) e-mails received by his Department had not been responded to as at 15 December 2008.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members/peers correspondence. Information relating to 2008 will be published as soon as it has been collated. The report for 2007 was published on 20 March 2008,  Official Report, columns 71-74WS. Reports for earlier years are available in the Library of the House. When responding to all correspondence, Departments should abide by the guidance as set out in "Handling correspondence from MPs, Lords, MEPs and Members of Devolved Assemblies" which was published by the Cabinet office in July 2005.
	In respect of all other correspondence, we are unable to provide the information within the disproportionate cost limit (£750) as to do so would require gathering information from every official in the Department.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what the cost to his Department of provision of office facilities to  (a) special advisers and  (b) press officers (i) was in the last 12 months and (ii) has been in each year since 1997-98.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The cost of the provision of office facilities to special advisers and press officers was as follows. The cost for years prior to 2006-07 is not available.
	
		
			  £ 
			   Special advisers  Press officers 
			 2007-08 41,249 72,284 
			 2006-07 41,795 73,240 
		
	
	Costs include rent, business rates, service charges, utilities, maintenance and accommodation management charges.

Football Association

Clive Betts: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if he will provide support to the Football Association for its Respect campaign; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Football is one of the most high profile sports in the world and footballers are not just sportsmen and women, they are role models for young people.
	While passion must remain at the heart of the game, it is also crucial that players, coaches, officials and spectators respect each other. I have therefore already publicly supported The Football Association's Respect campaign.
	I will continue to encourage an on-going commitment to change at all levels of sport, and I am grateful to the FA for leading the way.

Football Association

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what discussions he plans to have with the Football Association on the implementation of the remaining conclusions of the Burns Review; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 16 December 2008
	The Government continue to work closely with the Football Association (FA) on a number of important issues within the game including governance and regulation.
	Many of Lord Burns' independent review recommendations designed to reform the FA's decision-making structure in order to make it a more modern, effective and representative governing body for football have been implemented by the FA, and I will continue to regularly discuss progress.
	As part of the monitoring process of that report, the FA will review the changes they have put in place at Council, Board and Football Regulatory Authority level by 2012.

Mental Illness

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what assessment he has made of the recommendations relevant to his Department's policy responsibilities made in the Foresight report on Mental Capacity and Well-Being; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Department was pleased to read the Foresight report and will be considering it with a view to taking up any relevant findings.
	Part of that process will involve an assessment of what the report might mean for DCMS policy on the impacts of engaging with culture and sport and the Department will report on this in due course.

Welcome to Britain Group

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport 
	(1)  when representatives of the Welcome to Britain Group last met  (a) the Public Diplomacy Partners Group and  (b) the Public Diplomacy Board;
	(2)  how many VisitBritain staff work on the Welcome to Britain Group;
	(3)  on what dates the Welcome to Britain Group has met; and when the group next plans to meet;
	(4)  on what dates  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials from his Department have met the Welcome to Britain Group in the last 12 months.

Barbara Follett: holding answer 11 December 2008
	VisitBritain (VB) have advised that the Welcome to Britain Steering Group (WTBSG) have held quarterly meetings over the last 18 months and will meet again in February 2009. WTBSG last met on 1 December 2008. Members of the Public Diplomacy Partners Group (PDPG) attend these meetings. However, lead responsibility for the PDPG will shortly be passing to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
	VisitBritain provide Welcome to Britain with one full-time head of project, one full-time manager and a small internal working group of between six to eight staff who meet bimonthly. VisitBritain is currently chair of the WTBSG.
	The WTB initiative is an integral part of the DCMS 2012 tourism strategy and as such is fully integrated within that. Although no meetings with Ministers have taken place, the most recent meeting with the Tourism Ministerial Advisory Group was on 28 October 2008 at the House of Commons.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

CDC

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what discussions took place  (a) between his Department and CDC in 2005 and 2007 and  (b) with the Treasury in 2007, regarding the possibility of extracting resources from CDC, as referred to on page 15 of the National Audit Office Report, Investing for Development: DFID's oversight of CDC Group Plc, HC (2008-09) 18.

Douglas Alexander: No discussions took place between DFID and CDC in 2005 regarding the possibility of extracting resources from CDC.
	During 2007 DFID had preliminary discussions with both CDC and the Treasury regarding the possibility of extracting resources from CDC in the shape of a dividend. These discussions took place within the context of the wider discussion around CDC's strategic direction. This contributed to the development of CDC's new investment policy, about which I made a written ministerial statement on 3 November 2008,  Official Report, column 5WS.

Chad: United Nations

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what representations the Government have made to the UN in respect of the setting up of the UN Police Training and Advisory Mission MINURCAT 2 in Chad.

Douglas Alexander: The UK Government, through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, has been in regular contact with the United Nations (UN) authorities on this issue. UN Security Council discussions on 24 September 2008 led to the adoption of Resolution 1834, which expresses the intention to deploy a United Nations military component to follow EUFOR. A UN policing mission, MINURCAT, is already in place alongside EUFOR. Since 24 September, on-going discussions have taken place between member states and the UN, including with the Department of Peacekeeping Organisations. The precise nature of the force has not yet been decided and the mandate remains under discussion.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Children

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what support his Department has provided for rehabilitation of child soldiers in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and if he will make a statement.

Douglas Alexander: The UK has contributed U$35 million to the World Bank led Multi-Country Demobilisation and Reintegration Programme (MDRP), which supports the demobilisation and reintegration of ex-combatants in the greater Great Lakes region of central Africa. The largest programme of its kind in the world, the MDRP, with a budget of U$ 500 million, targeted an estimated 450,000 ex-combatants in seven countries, including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
	The MDRP has enabled 30,219 children to be released from armed forces in DRC and to receive services from child protection agencies, including UNICEF. Projects targeting children have primarily focused on tracing their families, facilitating family reunion and providing either vocational training or income generating activities.
	Going forward, a new single trust fund has been set up by the World Bank to which the UK (from Africa Conflict Prevention Pool funds) has contributed £1 million. The children component is implemented by Save the Children. This child protection agency has a project targeting for the moment 2,500 children associated with armed forces in eastern DRC.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much the UK has contributed to security sector reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo since 2003; and what assessment has been made of the effectiveness of the reforms initiated.

Douglas Alexander: Since 2003, the UK has made a bilateral contribution of £24.3 million to security sector reform in the Democratic Republic of Congo, comprising interventions by the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Ministry of Defence. These reforms include support for Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration (DDR) processes, police reform and support to the Justice sector.
	Police reform is DFID's priority, having provided technical assistance for early strategy development and we are currently supporting the national police reform committee's work to develop what we consider will be an effective police reform plan.
	While the police reform process is at an early stage, progress has been made to improve police capacity in service delivery and to strengthen accountability and oversight mechanisms.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Overseas Aid

Sammy Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much aid the Government  (a) have provided and  (b) plans to provide to those displaced by violence and conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development (DFID) is at the forefront of the humanitarian effort in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and has provided £42 million in 2008 for humanitarian needs, much of which was used to meet the needs of displaced people. This includes £5 million allocated after the latest crisis in North Kivu in October for food, health care, shelter and water and sanitation support for displaced people through UNICEF, the World Food Programme, Oxfam and the International Rescue Committee.
	The DFID humanitarian team continue to work closely with the United Nations (UN) and non-governmental organisations (NGO) partners on the ground to determine needs. We are keeping the need for further funds under review. DFID will aim to make funds available for the 2009 Humanitarian Action Plan in January and we expect to commit at least £35 million for humanitarian needs in 2009.

Departmental Air Travel

Andrew Mitchell: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how many personal, non-work-related flights were taken by staff in his Department with money released by downgrades from business class to economy class for work-related flights under his Department's flexible travel scheme in  (a) 2006-07 and  (b) 2007-08; and how much was spent on each flight in each such year.

Douglas Alexander: This question cannot be answered without incurring disproportionate cost.

Departmental Public Expenditure

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development with reference to the answer of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 105-08W, on departmental public expenditure, what the reasons were for overspends against the country budgets for  (a) Sudan,  (b) Rwanda,  (c) Ghana,  (d) Sierra Leone,  (e) Bangladesh,  (f) Nepal and  (g) the Palestinian Authority in 2007-08.

Douglas Alexander: Overspends against country budgets do not reflect unplanned excess spending, but reflect approved re-prioritisations of resources in response to events occurring during that financial year.
	Specific reasons for the variances in the countries identified are:
	 (a) Sudan: we increased our contribution to the Common Humanitarian Fund by £5 million and invested an extra £7 million in the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) schools programmes and the World Food Programme (WFP) rural roads programme.
	 (b) Rwanda: we provided extra funds to a Health Sector Support project.
	 (c) Ghana: we brought forward our General Budget Support contribution from 2008-09 to 2007-08 in order to meet the Government of Ghana's request for all budget support to be paid in the first quarter of their financial year (January to December).
	 (d) Sierra Leone: we brought forward our support contribution for the 2008 local government elections, which covered procurement and delivery of key elections materials, so as to enable Sierra Leone to meet its Constitution deadline of 5 July 2008. We also brought forward our funding of the completion of the Bumbuna hydro-electric dam to enable the completion of necessary works to allow the dam to be filled during the annual rains which began in May 2008.
	 (e) Bangladesh: we spent additional amounts on flood and cyclone relief following Cyclone Sidr which struck Bangladesh in November 2007.
	 (f) Nepal: additional resources were allocated to Nepal at a critical moment in its peace process, to help fund areas of the peace agreements, including support to elections, and to accelerate delivery of development.
	 (g) Palestinian Authority: in response to a personal request from the Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad, DFID agreed to frontload part of its three-year pledge made at the Paris donor conference by moving money from calendar financial year 2010 to 2008 in order to meet critical funding gaps in the recurrent Palestinian Authority budget and to signal strong political commitment to the Annapolis peace process.

Development Aid: Food

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of UK funds of the $1.4 billion for global food security has already been disbursed; and how disbursements of such funding are allocated for the purposes of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development DAC creditor reporting system.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has committed £865 million to respond to global food security. Of this £206 million, or 24 per cent., has been disbursed.
	Final allocations for the reporting of projects counting towards the commitment to the Creditor Reporting System (CRS) will be made after quality assurance of project coding within DFID and within the Development Assistance Committee.

Development Aid: Food

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what proportion of his Department's $1.4 billion funding allocation to improve global food security will be delivered through  (a) international institutions,  (b) non-governmental organisations and  (c) direct funding for national governments.

Michael Foster: Of the £865 million new commitments to improve global food security, £364 million, or 42 per cent., will be disbursed through international institutions such as the United Nations (UN) World Food Programme and the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research.
	£5 million, less than 1 per cent., will be disbursed directly through non-governmental organisations (NGOs). However, NGOs are often the implementing agents and therefore in-direct beneficiaries of funds to, for example, the social protection programme in Bangladesh (£83.5 million) and the UN Horn of Africa Humanitarian Appeal (£42 million).
	£295.5 million, or 34 per cent., will be disbursed to governments through budget support and funding to government sector programmes.
	A further £200 million, or 23 per cent., for agriculture research will be disbursed through regional research organisations, the UK's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council and public-private partnerships, for example, the Global Alliance for Livestock, Vaccines and Medicines.

Development Aid: Food

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development how much of the $1.4 billion committed by his Department to improve global food security will be released in each of the five years of the disbursement period.

Michael Foster: The Department for International Development (DFID) has committed £865 million to respond to global food security in the short, medium and long term. Short-term responses were primarily for support to humanitarian actions such as food aid and nutrition support and these will mainly be disbursed this and early next year. Further humanitarian funding for short-term needs will be committed depending on need.
	Medium to long-term actions such as funding social protection programmes are multi-annual. In Bangladesh, the £70 million commitment over six years will be spread evenly and average approximately £12 million per annum, and in Mozambique, our support to social protection is £2 million per annum. However, DFID understands there is a need to be flexible within programme plans and, if there are unforeseen events, budgets can be moved between financial years.
	The annual disbursement of the £400 million for agricultural research is set to increase from the budget for this financial year of £46 million to £57 million in 2009-10, and to over £72 million in 2010-11. Spending levels from 2011-12 are to be determined.

HIV Infection

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department is giving to programmes to combat HIV/AIDS in  (a) Africa and  (b) Asia; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Department for International Development's (DFID) bilateral expenditure on HIV and AIDS in Africa and Asia, 2005-06 to 2007-08 in £ million is as follows:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 Africa 186.1 183.7 206.0 
			 Asia 100.4 112.0 130.3 
		
	
	To strengthen and deliver a wide range of HIV/AIDS prevention, treatment and care services in the period 2005-06 to 2007-08, total bilateral expenditure on HIV and AIDS programmes in Africa was £576 million and in Asia £343 million.
	DFID also provides multilateral assistance to a range of organisations, a significant proportion of which is used to tackle HIV and AIDS in Africa and Asia. For example, DFID has provided over £250 million in core support to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, TB and Malaria over the period 2005-06 to 2007-08.

Horn of Africa: Overseas Aid

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what plans he has for changes in the level of UK aid to the Horn of Africa region.

Ivan Lewis: We are planning to increase our level of bilateral aid to Ethiopia, from the current allocation of £130 million (2008-09), to £150 million in 2009-10, then to £175 million in 2010-11.
	Our level of bilateral aid for Somalia and Eritrea will remain unchanged over the same period, at £21 million (Somalia) and £2.1 million (Eritrea) per year.
	We have no bilateral programme in Djibouti.
	These allocations will cover normal humanitarian requirements, though in the event of a crisis we would consider making further funds available (including to Djibouti).

Nigeria: Internally Displaced Persons

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what estimate he has made of the number of people displaced due to the conflict in the Nigerian city of Jos between 28 and 30 November 2008; and if he will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Plateau State Government estimates that between 4,000 and 5,000 people were displaced due to the conflict in Jos between 28 and 30 November. Action Aid Nigeria estimates the number displaced at about 4,000.

Overseas Aid

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what aid projects were supported by his Department in  (a) Pakistan,  (b) Cambodia and  (c) Zimbabwe in each of the last three years.

Michael Foster: Three tables showing the aid projects that were supported by the Department for International Development (DFID) and the funding committed over the last three years in Pakistan, Cambodia and Zimbabwe will be placed in the Library of the House.

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Animal Products: Import Duties

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs with reference to the answer of 4 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 391-4W, on the Common Agricultural Policy, what the cash amount of the tariff on  (a) beef imports from Brazil,  (b) butter imports from New Zealand,  (c) lamb imports from New Zealand and  (d) poultry meat from (i) Brazil and (ii) Thailand was in the last week for which figures are available.

Stephen Timms: I have been asked to reply.
	For the week beginning 1 December, the most recent week for which figures are available, Customs duty paid on non-processed bovine meat imported from Brazil totalled £37,637.39. The Customs duty paid on non-processed poultry meat imported from Brazil totalled £206,851.17.
	Non-processed lamb from New Zealand was imported during this period but no Customs duty was paid due to preferential rates.
	There were no imports of butter from New Zealand or non-processed poultry meat from Thailand.

Departmental Procurement

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether there has been nugatory cost to his Department and its agencies relating to tendered procurement where the tender process has been cancelled prior to the award of the contract in the last three years.

Huw Irranca-Davies: From information held centrally, the core-Department is unaware of any abortive cost to it relating to tendered procurement where the tender process has been cancelled prior to the award of the contract in the last three years. The core-Department would not hold centrally any such information in respect of any abortive costs incurred by its agencies and any such information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Genetically Modified Organisms: Soya Beans

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what his policy is on the use of  (a) genetically-modified soya and  (b) farm animals fed on genetically-modified soya for human consumption.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	All genetically modified (GM) crops must undergo a rigorous safety assessment before they can be authorised for use as food ingredients or animal feed in the European Union. Food ingredients and animal feed derived from GM crops must be labelled accordingly to allow consumers to make an informed choice. There is no requirement for the products (for example meat, milk and eggs) from animals fed GM feed to be labelled as such.

Phytophthora Ramorum

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps his Department is taking to combat the spread of Phytophthora ramorum and Phytophthora kernoviae.

Huw Irranca-Davies: DEFRA and the Forestry Commission are aware of the potential threat these diseases pose to our native habitats and are continuing to take action to control and eradicate them. We appreciate the co-operative and proactive approach which landowners and other stakeholders have taken to manage Phytophthora infections at their properties.
	There was an encouraging response to the recent consultation on future management of the risks from 'Phytophthora ramorum' and 'Phytophthora kernoviae'. Officials are currently analysing those responses and will be working to develop a strategy that will make the most effective use of the resources available.
	In the meantime, we urge everyone to continue to be vigilant and report any sign of disease, and to observe any restrictions in place where the disease has been found.

Rabbits

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with  (a) Network Rail and  (b) the Highways Agency on rabbit infestation on land owned or controlled by each; and if he will make a statement.

Huw Irranca-Davies: On behalf of DEFRA, Natural England generally advises on and deals with complaints concerning rabbit infestations. In the past three years, officials from DEFRA and/or Natural England and previously the Rural Development Service, have dealt with 23 individual cases involving rabbits harboured on railway property. These have all been discussed with Network Rail at a local or regional level. A meeting was held at national level in June 2006 and Natural England are currently arranging a further meeting with Network Rail at national level for early in 2009 to discuss rabbit control on their property.
	In the past three years, officials have discussed three cases with the Highways Agency at a local or regional level relating to rabbit infestations on road verges. There are currently no plans to meet with the Highways Agency at a national level. In addition, officials have discussed nine cases with local council highway departments.

SCOTLAND

Climate Change

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what assessment his Department has made of its capacity to adapt to climate change; and what plans he has to publish a climate change adaptation strategy.

Ann McKechin: In July 2008, the cross-Government Adapting to Climate Change Programme published a framework for action which set out the Government's strategy for adaptation and the work-plan for the cross-Government Programme for the next three years. This programme increases Government's capacity to adapt by ensuring a co-ordinated approach across all Departments and the public sector, and overall responsibility for it rests with DEFRA. Information about the Programme and its work can be found at:
	www.defra.gov/adaptation
	This includes taking forward work flowing from the Climate Change Act—including a national Climate Change Risk Assessment and cost benefit analysis which will inform future priorities for the statutory adaptation programme that will then begin in 2012.
	The Government's longer term strategy on adapting to a changing climate will be set out in this statutory National Adaptation Programme, which will be reviewed and updated on a five year rolling basis in response to updated risk assessments, and report to Parliament.
	The Scotland Office is part of the Ministry of Justice. All central Government Departments are required to produce Sustainable Development Action Plans (SDAPs). The plans are scrutinised by the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), and Departments report on progress against their own SDAP targets in their annual reports and other key publications.

Queen Elizabeth II: Anniversaries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what plans his Department has to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Ann McKechin: My Department has not, at this stage, developed plans on how to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen in 2012.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in discussions with the Royal Household about how to mark the Diamond Jubilee.

DEFENCE

Academies

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what discussions he has had on the possibility of academy schools being sponsored by  (a) the Armed Forces and  (b) his Department; and what consideration he is giving to the establishment of a military academy school in Colchester.

Kevan Jones: holding answer 16 December 2008
	I have held discussions with my hon. Friend the Minister for Schools and Learners over the future of the Duke of York's Royal Military School, including the possible option of it becoming an academy, but no decisions have yet been made. While the MOD has no current plans to sponsor academies, service representatives often become involved with academies to represent service families as an interested party within the local community. In discussions with my hon. Friend the Minister for Schools and Learners, we agreed to look at encouraging the creation of academy schools with links to the local military community, in areas with historic military links and a large military presence, such as Colchester.

Armed Forces: Bullying

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of bullying within the Armed Forces have been reported in the last 24 months, broken down by armed service.

Bob Ainsworth: Data on bullying are collected bi-annually with the last six-monthly period currently available being up to 30 September 2008. The following figures therefore cover the period 30 September 2006 to 30 September 2008. They cover both formal and informal complaints. These figures are gross totals and do not distinguish between complaints that were upheld or not upheld.
	The total number of formal complaints was 156 (Royal Navy 30, Army 58, RAF 68).
	The total number of informal complaints was 322 (Royal Navy 132, Army 88, RAF 102).

Armed Forces: Catering

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much per meal his Department spent on individuals serving in the armed forces in the latest year for which figures are available.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 16 December 2008
	This information is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Armed Forces: Pay

Nick Harvey: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what financial benefits service personnel receive, broken down by  (a) service and  (b) rank.

Kevan Jones: Service personnel receive a remuneration package comprising the following elements:
	Basic pay—paid in accordance with rank and seniority;
	Specialist Pay—paid to recruit and retain service personnel in specific branches;
	Allowances—over 80 allowances which cover the broad areas of accommodation, travel and subsistence, separation, location and relocation, clothing, education, compensation and education; and
	Non contributory pension.
	Rates of basic pay, specialist pay and some allowances, for all members of the armed forces up to the rank of Brigadier and equivalent, are recommended by the independent Armed Forces' Pay Review Body (AFPRB) in its annual report to the Prime Minister and the Secretary of State for Defence. Copies of the AFPRB's 37(th) Report—2008 (Cm 7315) and its Supplement (Cm 7347), which covers the pay of service medical and dental officers, for financial year 2008-09, are available in the Library of the House.
	Pay rates for all senior service officers of Major General rank and equivalent, and above, are recommended by the independent Review Body on Senior Salaries (SSRB) in its annual report to the Prime Minister, the Lord Chancellor, the Secretary of State for Defence and the Secretary of State for Health. Copies of the SSRB's 30(th) Report on Senior Salaries (Cm 7388), which covers financial year 2008-09, are available in the Library of the House.
	Those allowances which do not fall within the remit of the AFPRB are reviewed annually by the Ministry of Defence (MOD). Current rates for all service allowances are published in the Joint Service Publication 752—Tri Service Regulations for Allowances, which is available on the Internet (via search engine requests for 'JSP 752').
	Updated pension rates and associated benefits for service personnel are calculated annually by the MOD. Details of pension benefits for former service personnel for financial year 2008-09 are available on the MOD website at:
	www.armedforcespensions.mod.uk
	which includes a pensions calculator.
	In addition to the remuneration package already described, there is also a wider benefits package for service personnel. This includes free medical and dental care, 30 days annual leave plus other targeted leave such as post operational tour leave, sporting facilities and adventurous training, subsidised accommodation, an operational welfare package and the Forces Discount Brochure.

Armed Forces: Postal Services

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Christmas mail packages sent to armed forces personnel have incurred a penalty charge to the sender in the latest period for which figures are available.

Bob Ainsworth: The British Forces Post Office (BFPO) makes no charges at any time on items being transferred within the BFPO system. We are unable to comment on any charges that might be levied by Royal Mail Group.

Armed Forces: Stress

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) officers and  (b) other ranks in (i) the Army, (ii) the Royal Air Force and (iii) the Royal Navy have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in each of the last 10 years; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: The MOD's Defence Analytical Services and Advice (DASA) organisation has since July 2007 reported on the psychiatric morbidity of the UK armed forces, and quarterly reports for the whole of 2007 are now available both in the Library of the House and from the DASA website: www.dasa.mod.uk. Verified data for the whole of the armed forces covering all deployments is not available prior to 2007.
	The DASA statistics report on the numbers of new attendances at MOD's Departments of Community Mental Health (DCMHs) during each quarter. The DASA figures for the number of personnel newly assessed with a mental health disorder are broken down by Service and by officers and other ranks, although the Service totals are not broken down by rank. The DASA figures also report the initial mental health assessment made during the patient's first appointment.
	The DASA figures are shown in the two tables, and refer to the calendar year 2007:
	
		
			  Service  Patients assessed with a mental health disorder  in 2007  Patients assessed with PTSD in 2007 
			 Royal Navy 510 18 
			 Royal Marines 89 17 
			 Army 2,316 122 
			 RAF 847 17 
			 Characteristics not known 155 6 
			 Total 3,917 180 
		
	
	
		
			  Rank  Patients assessed with a mental health disorder  in 2007  Patients assessed with PTSD in 2007 
			 Officers 251 9 
			 Other Ranks 3,511 165 
			 Characteristics not known 155 6 
			 Total 3,917 180

Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Procurement

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what platform will be introduced to provide an interim armoured scout capability between the end of the Scimitar service life and the introduction of the Future Rapid Effects System Scout variant.

Quentin Davies: It is planned that the Scimitar armoured reconnaissance vehicle will remain in service until the future rapid effect system Scout vehicle is available.

Armoured Fighting Vehicles: Procurement

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects the Future Rapid Effects System Scout variant to enter service.

Quentin Davies: The future rapid effect system programme is currently in its assessment phase. The in-service date for the Scout variant will not be fixed until the main investment decision has been taken.

Atomic Weapons Establishment

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his estimates are of the capital costs for the proposed  (a) small components manufacturing,  (b) conventional manufacturing rationalisation,  (c) high explosives fabrication and  (d) uranium handling facility at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

Quentin Davies: I am withholding the information as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice commercial interests.

Atomic Weapons Establishment

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Blaneau Gwent of 29 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1029W, when he expects the commercial discussions between his Department and AWE plc to conclude.

Quentin Davies: Discussions between the Ministry of Defence and AWE plc in respect of these matters are continuing. We hope to reach a final settlement during the next financial year.

AWE Aldermaston

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Lewes, 10 November 2008,  Official Report, column 777W, on AWE Aldermaston, if he will place in the Library a copy of the preliminary safety report for the proposed uranium handling facility at AWE Aldermaston which has been provided to the Health and Safety Executive.

Quentin Davies: As I stated in my answer on 10 November 2008,  Official Report, column 777W, should the proposed replacement uranium handling facility proceed, a preliminary safety report would be completed. The document to which the hon. Member refers does not currently exist.

Christmas

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much has been spent on (a) departmental Christmas parties and  (b) staff entertainment in the last three years.

Kevan Jones: Staff Christmas parties are paid for from non-public funds or staff subscription. MOD does not use public funds for such activities, in line with departmental guidance and the principles of 'Managing Public Money', and no official funds were used for Christmas parties in the last three years.
	Departmental guidance states that it is acceptable for service and civilian staff to be entertained at public expense (subject to strict constraints on the cost and frequency of such activity) only in the context of unit cohesiveness or teambuilding events. However, information on amounts spent on staff entertainment in the last three years is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Climate Change

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of its capacity to adapt to climate change; and what plans he has to publish a climate change adaptation strategy.

Kevan Jones: The cross-Government Adapting to Climate Change Programme increases Government's capacity to adapt by ensuring a co-ordinated approach across all Departments and the public sector. This includes implementation of the adaptation aspects of the Climate Change Act, such as development of the national climate risk assessment. Information about the Programme can be found at:
	www.defra.gov/adaptation
	The Ministry of Defence Climate Change Strategy has been endorsed by Secretary of State for Defence and will be published in the coming weeks. I will arrange to have copies placed in the Library of the House. The Strategy sets high-level targets for the mitigation and adaptation activities that the MOD will take in order to reduce our impact on climate change as well as the impact of climate change on our outputs.

Defence and Analytical Services Agency

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of  (a) the Defence and Analytical Services Agency's (DASA) monthly price index booklets,  (b) DASA's quarterly price index forecasts,  (c) DASA's quarterly foreign price indices and  (d) DASA's negotiators' briefing packs issued in 2008.

Kevan Jones: I will arrange for copies of the Monthly Price Indices booklet, Quarterly Foreign Price Indices booklet and the Negotiators Briefing Pack published in 2008 to be placed in the Library of the House.
	I am withholding copies of the DASA Price Indices UK Quarterly Forecast as their release would, or would be likely to, prejudice commercial interests.

Defence Equipment: Corrosion

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the costs of corrosion of equipment in the armed forces in each of the last three years.

Quentin Davies: The detection, prevention and rectification of corrosion are routine maintenance requirements for all ships, aircraft and land vehicles. The costs of such activity cannot be specifically isolated and are not, therefore, held centrally.

Departmental Consultants

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many  (a) businesses and  (b) individuals provided consultancy services to his Department in each of the last three years; and what the top 10 contracts by monetary value were in each case.

Kevan Jones: The Ministry of Defence does not hold this information centrally. Summaries for the years 1995-96 to 2007-08 of total MOD expenditure on External Assistance, of which consultancy is a part, is available in the Library of the House.
	The Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) publishes a list of companies paid £5 million or more in each year within their UK Defence Statistics. This information can be found at:
	 2005-06
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/modintranet/natstats/ukds/2006/c1/table116.html
	 2006-07
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/modintranet/natstats/ukds/2007/c1/table118.html
	 2007-08
	http://www.dasa.mod.uk/modintranet/UKDS2008/c1/table118.html

Departmental Furniture

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much was spent by his Department on furniture made by  (a) British firms,  (b) Remploy and  (c) overseas firms in each year since 2000.

Kevan Jones: The information requested is set out in the following table:
	
		
			  £ million 
			   Financial yea r 
			   2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06  2006-07  2007-08 
			 British firms 13.4 15.3 18.5 18.1 15.4 13.7 
			 Remploy 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 0.2 
			 Overseas firms 7.5 7.7 9.3 9.7 8.2 6.7 
		
	
	The figures exclude PFI/PPP projects where the furniture is supplied by the industrial partner and forms a part of the overall project costs. Data are not held prior to financial year 2002-03.

Departmental Public Consultation

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence on which occasions his Department has convened a citizens' jury or randomly drawn panel of people to aid the Department's policy making since 2000; whether the participants were paid in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: The Department has not arranged any citizens' juries.

Departmental Publications

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will place in the Library copies of the quarterly CPS21 publication for each quarter of 2008.

Kevan Jones: Copies of CPS21 for each quarter of 2008 are being collated and will be placed in the Library of the House in due course.

Lynx Helicopters: Procurement

Gerald Howarth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the planned in-service dates for the  (a) Royal Navy and  (b) Army Future Lynx helicopters are;
	(2)  how many Future Lynx helicopters he plans to procure for the  (a) Royal Navy and  (b) Army.

Quentin Davies: Under the revised arrangements for the Future Lynx project announced by my right hon. Friend, the Defence Secretary on 11 December 2008,  Official Report, columns 65-66WS, we now plan to buy 34 Future Lynx helicopters for the Army and 28 for the Royal Navy. These new arrangements will provide increased commonality leading to greater versatility and flexibility. The in-service dates remain as 2014 and 2015 respectively.

Mental Illness

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the recommendations relevant to his Department's policy responsibilities made in the Foresight report on Mental Capacity and Well-Being; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: The Ministry of Defence was pleased to receive the Foresight report and will be considering it with a view to taking up any relevant findings.
	Part of that process will involve an assessment of what the report might mean for MOD policy on mental well-being, training and development, flexible working and managing sickness absence.
	Initial findings indicate that departmental policy is broadly in line with the recommendations made in the report.

Military Bases: Long Marston

John Maples: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the Engineer Depot at Long Marston has been used for dumping, burying or otherwise disposing of  (a) asbestos and  (b) other hazardous materials.

Kevan Jones: The Engineer's Depot at Long Marston was sold on 24 November 2004 and as part of the disposal process a series of risk based Land Quality Assessments were provided to the purchasers. These Assessments identified a range of contaminants including asbestos which will be dealt with by any developer associated with the former use of the site.
	Disposal areas for materials had been located in the north western and southern corners of the site and a former burning ground for radium contaminants was identified on the western boundary. An appropriate level of remediation, to remove the radium contaminants which had been identified, was completed in late 2006.

Military Bases: Wales

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the active military sites located in Wales.

Kevan Jones: Given the way the information is held, it will take officials a little longer to separately identify all of the active military sites in Wales from those that are not in use.
	I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Navy: Piracy

Willie Rennie: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for how many months Royal Navy ships undertaking anti-piracy patrols have been located in the Gulf of Aden in the last 24 months.

Peter Ainsworth: Since January 2007, the Royal Navy has had at least one vessel located in the Gulf of Aden and the wider Gulf region conducting counter destabilising activities, including counter piracy.
	The Royal Navy has also provided HMS Northumberland since 8 December 2008 to carry out the first period of the EU anti piracy mission.
	Furthermore, HMS Cumberland was involved with the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 between October and December 2008, under a mandate which allowed them to conduct counter-piracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.

Queen Elizabeth II: Anniversaries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans his Department has to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Kevan Jones: There are no specific plans as yet for the armed forces' involvement in events to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen in 2012. We will be discussing this with the Royal Household in the coming months and details of events planned will be announced nearer the time.

RAF Machrihanish

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to resurface the runway at MoD Machrihanish.

Kevan Jones: As the Machrihanish site is surplus to defence requirements and is being disposed of the Department has no plans to resurface the runway.

RAF Machrihanish

Liam Fox: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether his Department plans to sell off MoD Machrihanish; and if he will make a statement.

Kevan Jones: I refer the hon. Member to my written ministerial statement on 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 1WS.

Trident

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to the answer to the hon. Member for Lewes of 10 November 2008,  Official Report, column 777W, on AWE Aldermaston, whether his Department is considering financing any elements of the programme to replace the Trident nuclear warhead through private finance initiatives.

Quentin Davies: There is no programme to develop a new UK nuclear warhead. There is, however, work being undertaken to inform decisions, likely to be taken in the next Parliament, on whether and, if so, how we might need to refurbish or replace our current warhead. There are no plans to introduce private finance initiatives to fund this work.

ENERGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

Aviation: Exhaust Emissions

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the annual carbon dioxide emissions of dedicated air freight traffic within the UK; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: Estimates for the annual carbon dioxide emissions of dedicated air freight within the UK are obtained from The Department for Transport's 2007 publication "UK Air Passenger Demand and CO2 Forecasts", this is available on the DFT website, at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/pgr/aviation/environmentalissues/ukairdemandandco2forecasts/
	Table G.10: 'CO2 emissions at airport level 2005 and 2030' estimates total CO2 emissions from dedicated air freight flights departing UK airports in 2005 to be 0.6MTCO2. This estimate includes all dedicated air freight flights departing UK airports, not just flights operating from one UK airport to another.

Carbon Emissions

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what consultation with businesses his Department  (a) has undertaken and  (b) plans to undertake on the implementation of the carbon reduction commitment.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 8 December 2008
	Two formal public consultations on the carbon reduction commitment were undertaken in November 2006 and June 2007 and a further consultation is planned before next spring.
	Alongside the public consultations, the Government and the devolved Administrations held workshops attended by over 500 individuals, including those from businesses.
	Further engagement with businesses, public sector organisations and other stakeholders is planned in the run up to the implementation of the scheme.

Carbon Emissions

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what carbon dioxide reductions are expected as a result of the carbon reduction commitment in its first five years; and how those targets have been calculated.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 8 December 2008
	Analysis commissioned by the Government on the carbon dioxide emissions reductions achievable under the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) conservatively estimates that the scheme could achieve cost effective savings of 0.5 million tonnes of carbon (MtC) per year by 2015 and 1.2MtC (or 4.4 MtCO2) per year by 2020. These figures were calculated by looking at the relative cost of abatement strategies for the participants of the CRC, to determine likely reductions under different carbon price scenarios.
	Actual emissions reductions will ultimately depend on the cap on emissions set from 2013 onwards. The Committee on Climate Change will advise on the level of the cap for the CRC, taking into account the information established in the introductory phase, and the Government's overall emissions reductions targets.

Carbon Emissions

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent representations he has received from businesses about the effects on their cash-flow of the carbon reduction commitment.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 8 December 2008
	The Government consulted in November 2006 and June 2007 with respect to the Carbon Reduction Commitment, and at these times some stakeholders expressed concern regarding cash flow implications.
	The Carbon Reduction Commitment will be broadly revenue neutral to participants as a whole. All the money raised from the sale of allowances will be recycled back to participants. In response to concerns over cash flow the proposed length of time between the sale of allowances and recycling of auction revenues has been reduced from 18 months to six months. This change has been generally welcomed by stakeholders. In order to maintain the scheme's financial incentives, analysis has indicated that a gap of at least six months must be maintained between the sale of allowances and the return of participants' money. Participants will be able to further reduce the cash flow implications of buying allowances by reducing their carbon emissions, and therefore requiring fewer allowances.

Carbon Emissions

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the level of  (a) UK and  (b) global carbon dioxide emissions in each of the next three years; what plans he has to encourage other governments to achieve emissions reductions in the short term; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: Estimates of the projected annual emissions of carbon dioxide to 2011 are shown in the following tables for  (a) the UK and  (b) globally.
	The UK projected reductions are shown relative to 1990 levels, both with and without the impact of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
	Projections for 2008 to 2011 were published in November 2008, and represent an update on the "Central Scenario" projection published in the Energy White Paper in May 2007.
	According to the International Energy Agency, global carbon dioxide emissions will rise on average by 1.6 per cent. between 2008 and 2011.
	The UK Government will continue to work with other governments through the United Nations Climate Change process, the EU, G8, other forums and bilaterally to reach a global agreement that reduces global greenhouse emissions.
	
		
			  Table (a) UK carbon dioxide emissions projections 1990 to 2011 
			  MtCO 2 
			   1990  2007  2008  2009  2010  2011 
			 UK CO2 emissions, central assumption without ETS 592.4 543.7 541.3 534.2 528.2 528.5 
			 Percentage CO2 emissions reduction without EU ETS relative to base year of 1990 n/a -8.2 -8.6 -9.8 -10.8 -10.8 
			 UK CO2 emissions, central assumption with ETS 592.4 518.1 508.9 506.0 504.2 503.8 
			 Percentage CO2 emissions reduction with EU ETS relative to base year of 1990 n/a -12.5 -14.1 -14.6 -14.9 -15.0 
			  Source:  UEP, DECC 2008. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table (b) Global CO 2  emissions 2008 to 2011 
			  MtCO 2 
			   2008  2009  2010  2011 
			 Global CO2 emissions, baseline (business as usual projection) 2008 28,906.0 29,368.5 29,838.3 30,315.8 
			  Source:  IEA, World Energy Outlook, 2008.

Carbon Emissions: Combined Heat and Power

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the likely effect on UK carbon emissions of replacing all UK household boilers with combined heat and power boilers.

Joan Ruddock: The Government have been funding trials of combined heat and power systems through the Carbon Trust. The results of these trials suggest that, with currently available technology, micro-CHP boilers would only provide cost-effective reductions in carbon emissions in up to 20 per cent. of homes—generally larger dwellings with above average heat demand.
	The replacement of all UK household boilers with domestic micro-CHP boilers is unlikely to prove cost-effective. But, as an illustration, if 5 million units were installed in the most appropriate homes, CO2 savings would be around 1.5 MtCO2 per year, at today's carbon intensity of grid electricity.
	A longer term influence comes from the predicted decrease in the carbon intensity of grid electricity, due to changes in the mix of power generation. This will reduce the CO2 savings per unit, and hence also the cost-effectiveness, although technology developments and changing costs will also affect this.

Carbon Emissions: EU Countries

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what recent estimate he has made of the projected reduction in carbon dioxide emissions relative to 1990 levels that will be achieved by 2010 by  (a) the UK and  (b) the EU, excluding the impact of the EU emissions trading scheme.

Joan Ruddock: Estimates of the projected annual emissions of carbon dioxide to 2010 are shown in the following tables for  (a) the UK and  (b) the EU. The reductions shown are relative to 1990 levels and for the UK exclude the impact of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. However, there are no figures available for the EU without inclusion of the impact of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, therefore those presented include this.
	
		
			  (a) UK Carbon dioxide emission projections 1990-2010 
			  Million tonnes CO 2 
			   1990  1991  1992  1993  1994  1995  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000 
			 UK CO2 emissions, central assumption without ETS 592.4 599.1 582.0 567.1 559.3 549.8 571.0 548.1 549.9 540.3 548.6 
			 Percentage CO2 emissions reduction w/out EU ETS relative to base year of 1990 n/a 1.1 -1.8 -4.3 -5.6 -7.2 -3.6 -7.5 -7.2 -8.8 -7.4 
		
	
	
		
			  Million tonnes CO 2 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007  2008  2009  2010 
			 UK CO2 emissions, central assumption without ETS 559.4 542.7 554.7 555.1 555.2 554.5 543.7 541.3 534.2 528.2 
			 Percentage CO2 emissions reduction w/out EU ETS relative to base year of 1990 -5.6 -8.4 -6.4 -6.3 -6.3 -6.4 -8.2 -8.6 -9.8 -10.8 
			  Source: UEP 2008, DECC 
		
	
	
		
			  (b) Energy related CO 2  emissions by the EU in the reference scenario 
			  GIGA tonnes CO 2 
			  Region  1990  2000  2006  2020 
			 EU emissions with ETS according to IEA Reference Scenario 4.04 3.80 3.94 3.95 
			 Percentage CO2 emissions reduction with EU ETS (relative to base year of 1990 n/a -5.9 -2.5 -2.2 
			  Source: IEA 'World Energy Outlook', 2008

Carbon Reduction Commitment

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1142W, on carbon emissions: local authorities, at what fixed price allowances under the Carbon Reduction Commitment will be sold in each year of the first phase.

Joan Ruddock: The Government consulted in June 2007 on the price of allowances for the fixed price sales during the introductory phase of the Carbon Reduction Commitment. The Government response to the consultation, published in March 2008, stated that the Government are minded to take forward a fixed price for allowances of £12 per tonne of CO2 for the three-year introductory phase. The fixed price for allowances will be confirmed in the consultation on the Carbon Reduction Commitment regulations which we plan to publish next spring.

Climate Change

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change for what reasons he did not place hard copies of the Climate Change Committee's report, Building a Low-Carbon Economy: The UK's Contribution to Climate Change, in the Vote Office; and how many copies of the report have been downloaded from the internet.

Joan Ruddock: The Committee on Climate Change was vested as an independent body on 1 December 2008, the same day that it was required by the Climate Change Act to give advice on carbon budgets to the Secretary of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change and publish the advice (section 34). Consequently, it could only issue copies of the report on vesting.
	The Committee on Climate Change has requested that a copy of the Executive Summary of Building a Low-Carbon Economy: the UK's Contribution to Climate Change be placed in the Vote Office. The Executive Summary includes a CD of the full report.
	Copies of the report will also be placed in the Libraries of the House once they have been signed by the Secretary of State.
	The Committee on Climate Change does not have figures for numbers of downloaded reports available. However, their reports page, available at:
	www.theccc.org.uk/reports/
	was viewed 6,921 times between 1 December and 7 December.

Climate Change

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what role his Department will have in the promotion of UK climate change and energy objectives overseas; and if he will make a statement.

Joan Ruddock: The Department of Energy and Climate Change has the lead responsibility for the UK's objectives on both climate change and energy. In international negotiations on these issues, the Department works closely with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Department for International Development and other Government Departments.
	The Department is leading the Government's work to achieve agreements at EU and international levels on multilateral action to tackle climate change and implementing these agreements.
	One example of our current work on energy security is the major international meeting that my right hon. friend the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change is hosting in London on 19 December. This follows on from the meeting in Jeddah earlier this year, to further the dialogue between oil producing and consuming countries. Following the recent volatility of energy markets, the meeting will consider the impact of the global financial crisis on energy markets and investment, and how countries can work together to address the mutual long-term energy challenges we face.

Energy: Prices

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what estimate he has made of the number of households in receipt of reduced domestic energy bills as a result of the measures announced as part of the Home Energy Saving programme.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 16 December 2008
	 : From 1 October to 30 November the Warm Front scheme has spent approximately £20 million of the extra £50 million added to this financial year's budget. This has assisted more than 16,000 households by delivering energy efficiency advice together with a range of heating and insulation measures.
	The Government will consult in the new year on proposed legislation regarding the increased carbon emission reduction target and new Community Energy Saving Programme obligations. In anticipation of this, energy suppliers have increased their insulation programmes for this winter. In fact, as part of their obligation to improve household energy efficiency, early in the autumn, energy companies estimated that they would insulate twice as many cavity walls and 50 per cent. more lofts than last winter.
	Also as part of the 11 September package, the cold weather payments were increased from £8.50 to £25 a week. Over 500,000 payments have been made this winter.
	Thousands of extra people have benefited from energy saving advice from the Act on CO2 helpline since the 11 September announcement. Run by the EST, it took 89,000 calls in September (against 27,000 in September 2007), 92,000 in October (against 33,000 in 2007) and 62,000 in November (against 37,000 in 2007).

Energy: Training

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many individuals have accessed Government funded training through the energy efficiency employment initiative in each month since the inception of the initiative.

Joan Ruddock: The first phase of the Energy Efficiency Employment Initiative (EEEI) provides help for people wishing to move into loft and cavity wall insulation jobs. The EEEI became operational at the beginning of December 2008. Consequently no monthly figures are yet available.

Home Energy Efficiency Scheme: Essex

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change by whom Warm Front contractors serving the Essex area are approved; and what the average amount charged to individual clients by each contractor as an additional payment for the work done under the scheme is.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 15 December 2008
	The Warm Front contractors in the Essex area and the average amount charged to individual clients by each contractor is outlined in the following table:
	
		
			  Installer  Average contribution (£) 
			 Cosytop Thermal Insulations Limited 562.90 
			 Dawsetway Heating and Renewables Ltd. 454.48 
			 RG Francis Ltd. (oil) 1,353.02 
			 Iguana Services Ltd. 473.34 
			 Interglow Contracts Ltd. 393.30 
			 Kershaw Contracting Services 641.72 
			 Orion Insulation and Construction Services 578.01 
			 Sec Ltd. 722.30 
			 West Anglia Insulation Ltd. 582.07 
		
	
	The quoted prices under the scheme are harmonised which means contractors in the area will be paid the same rate for the same type of work.

Insulation: Housing

Oliver Letwin: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change if he will amend the Government's insulation scheme for disabled householders to cover households with disabled children.

Joan Ruddock: The Warm Front scheme is presently under review, which includes consideration as to whether the existing eligibility criteria are the most effective in targeting vulnerable households in danger of fuel poverty.
	As part of this process we will be considering the recommendations of the National Audit Office's Value for Money report on Warm Front, which is due to be published early next year.
	Any decisions will be announced in due course.

Members: Correspondence

John Baron: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he plans to reply to the letters dated 29 September and 29 October 2008 from the hon. Member for Billericay regarding a constituent, Mr C Jones.

Joan Ruddock: holding answer 8 December 2008
	I have recently responded to the hon. Member's letter of 29 September and he will receive a reply shortly.

Members: Correspondence

Gerald Kaufman: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change when he will reply to the letter to him of 15 October from the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton with regard to Mr. J. Lee.

Joan Ruddock: My Department does not have a record of receiving a letter from my right hon. Friend the Member for Manchester, Gorton, dated 15 October in regard to Mr. J. Lee. My officials have contacted his office to request a copy.

Ministerial Policy Advisers: Pay

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change whether the special representatives on  (a) international energy issues and  (b) carbon trading receive remuneration in respect of those roles.

Joan Ruddock: No. DECC will meet reasonable expenses incurred by the special representatives on international energy issues and carbon trading in the course of their duties.

Mobile Homes: Energy

Mark Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what steps he is taking to support energy efficiency measures for mobile homes.

Joan Ruddock: The Government's Warm Front programme provides assistance to vulnerable households, including those living in mobile homes, with repairs of existing and installation of new heating systems.
	Mobile homes often prove difficult to treat, with many of the most cost-effective measures, such as loft and cavity wall insulation and mains gas central heating being unsuitable. However, Warm Front has developed mechanisms for assessing new technologies that could be brought onto the scheme. We are currently reviewing alternative heating and insulation measures which potentially could provide future solutions for mobile home properties.

Warm Front Scheme

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many applications for Warm Front grants are under consideration.

Joan Ruddock: The current number of applications outstanding is 106,179. Each of these applications will be at very different stages and will be eligible for a range of measures. Some customers will be awaiting survey, others will be awaiting work to be installed and others will have an outstanding contribution to make to the cost of the work.

Warm Front Scheme

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many people with Warm Front grant applications under consideration are without heating.

Joan Ruddock: It is not possible to quantify the exact number of applicants who are currently without heating. Some households will have a heating system with an intermittent fault, others may have intermediate forms of secondary heating and others may be waiting for a heating measure to replace an unreliable and inefficient system. It is not therefore possible to quantify at any exact moment how many households with an outstanding application are without heating.

Warm Front Scheme

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assistance is available to individuals who apply for a Warm Front grant where the cost of the work exceeds the original quotation.

Joan Ruddock: Where an excess payment is required, Warm Front will always be willing to provide clients with advice about sourcing funding from external organisations to help them meet their contribution. Eaga plc, the present Scheme Manager, has well established relationships with such organisations throughout the country and can offer advice and assistance when it is requested.
	DECC is aware that some customers have difficulties making a financial contribution. We are currently assessing ways in which we can help customers to make full use of the scheme. Part of this analysis will include considering whether the grants are set at the most suitable levels.
	Funding to Warm Front was increased in the pre-Budget report by £100 million, with another £50 million in spending bought forward. We want to make sure as many households as possible get the help they need.

Warm Front Scheme

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how many individuals have made an additional contribution to the cost of installing heating under the Warm Front scheme; and what the average amount of such a contribution has been.

Joan Ruddock: The information requested is as follows:
	
		
			   Number/£ 
			 Total number of customers who have made an additional contribution 130,799 
			 Average customer contribution 487.28 
		
	
	These figures are from 1 June 2005 until end of October 2008.

Warm Front Scheme

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what the average waiting period for emergency work to be conducted by Warm Front was on the latest date for which information is available.

Joan Ruddock: Warm Front is not designed to act as an emergency service and the Scheme Manager's target timescales reflect the overarching need to make the best use of the money available. At present the Scheme Manager has a target to complete all heating work within 120 working days of survey. In practice, the average waiting time is less than 65 days for the installation of a heating measure following the initial survey.
	However, the Department does recognise that some applicants are in need of urgent assistance and we are currently looking at ways of reducing these timescales for the most vulnerable clients. Any decisions will be announced in due course.
	Following the installation of a Warm Front system, the scheme provides a 24-hour emergency breakdown service in case issues arise, which has a target response time of 48 hours.

Warm Front Scheme

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what proportion of the Warm Front budget for 2008-09 he expects to have been spent by the end of the fiscal year; and what plans he has for making use of any underspend.

Joan Ruddock: The Warm Front budget for 2008-09 is approximately £395 million. We expect to spend the full budget to ensure we deliver the maximum number of heating, insulation and energy efficiency measures to vulnerable households.

Warm Front Scheme

Greg Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1149W, on the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme, if he will place in the Library a copy of the pricing framework agreed with Eaga.

Joan Ruddock: The pricing framework agreed with Eaga plc is commercially sensitive so it will not be placed in the Library of the House.

Warm Front Scheme

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change how much contractors participating in the Warm Front Scheme were charged for the administration costs of the scheme in the last 12 months.

Joan Ruddock: Contractors appointed to work under the Warm Front grant scheme are not charged for administration costs.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

Australia

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans there are for official visits to the UK by members of the government of Australia.

Gillian Merron: Australian Ministers and officials regularly visit the UK. Prime Minister Rudd visited in April. The Australian Defence and Foreign Ministers met their counterparts in Leeds on 28 November. I also met Foreign Minister Stephen Smith on 27 November, and discussed a range of bilateral and international issues. We are in regular contact with the Australian government and their high commission in London to discuss arrangements for further official visits to the UK, but do not disclose details in advance of official announcements.

Burma: Human Rights

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps the Government has taken to strengthen mechanisms for the reporting of human rights violations in Burma.

Bill Rammell: We remain deeply concerned at the human rights situation in Burma. We use every appropriate opportunity to highlight the ongoing abuses in the UN's human rights bodies. The UK helped to secure a further resolution of the 3rd Committee of the UN General Assembly on 21 November 2008. The resolution called on the regime to comply with its international human rights obligations, and set out a range of specific concerns. It echoed a Human Rights Council resolution, passed on 18 June, with strong UK support. These resolutions underpin the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Thomas Ojea Quintana, whose mission is the primary reporting mechanism on the situation in Burma. Mr. Quintana visited Burma from 3-7 August and produced a substantive report. We hope he will be able to return to Burma soon to continue his work, and urge the Burmese authorities to give him their full co-operation.
	Our embassy in Rangoon continues to monitor the human rights situation, and our ambassador raises our concerns in meetings and correspondence with Burmese Ministers and officials. He last met Burmese Ministers at the beginning of December.

Commonwealth Scholarships

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer to the right hon. Lord Morris of Manchester of 14 October 2008,  Official Report, House of Lords column WA45, on the Commonwealth Scholarships Programme, what steps have been taken to identify additional funding for scholarships for Canada; what the outcome was of this process; and whether similar steps have been taken for other countries affected by the termination of the Commonwealth Scholarships Programme.

David Miliband: I refer the right hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Higher Education and Intellectual Property gave my right hon. Friend the Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field) on 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1852W.

Departmental Air Travel

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend East of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, column 140W, on departmental air travel, how much departmental air mileage was carbon offset through the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership in each of the last two years, broken down by  (a) domestic and  (b) non-domestic travel.

Gillian Merron: The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) is in the process of analysing its air mileage figures for 2007 prior to transferring funds to the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEP) for the purchase of offsets. In 2006 the FCO offset 73,509,326 air miles through REEP, of which we calculate 754,810 miles were for domestic travel, the remainder being for non-domestic travel.

Economic and Monetary Union

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when his Department's officials last discussed the UK's prospective membership of the euro with the European Commission; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: I will write to the right hon. Member shortly.
	 Substantive answer from David Miliband to William Hague:
	The Government's policy on membership of the singly currency is unchanged. It remains as set out by my right. hon. Friend, the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Gordon Brown, in his statement to the House in October 1997, and again in his statement on the five test assessment in June 2003. My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced in the 2008 Budget that, "the Government does not propose euro assessment to be initiated at the time of this budget". The Treasury will again review the situation at Budget time next year as required by the June 2003 statement.

Ethiopia: Rendition

Andrew Tyrie: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1772W, whether the individuals to whom British officials spoke had access to a lawyer; whether any of them alleged mistreatment during their discussions with British officials; and whether any of them had been transferred to Ethiopia from Kenya or Somalia.

Bill Rammell: We have made clear that we are not aware that these individuals' detention was unlawful, but we are unable to go into further details relating to confidential exchanges on counter-terrorist issues with our Ethiopian partners. It is, however, standard practice for our officials to note the well-being of those interviewed. None of these particular detainees complained of any physical mistreatment.

Germany: Energy

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his German counterpart on a common EU energy policy; and what assessment he has made of the compatibility of the German undersea pipeline from Russia to Germany with that policy.

Gillian Merron: The EU recognises the need for a coherent energy policy. The Commission has recently published its Second Strategic Energy Review identifying as priorities diversification of energy sources and supply, infrastructure and energy efficiency. The UK welcomes this document as an important step in ensuring a cohesive EU position on energy security and looks forward to the adoption of an action plan at the Spring European Council.
	Discussions about the action plan take place at official and ministerial level, multilaterally and bilaterally, including with Germany. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs regularly covers climate and energy issues when he meets or phones his German counterpart, Foreign Minister Steinmeier.
	The proposed Nord Stream pipeline from Russia to Germany is a commercial venture. In the long term Nord Stream could potentially help diversify the EU's routes of energy supplies, one of the key priorities identified in the Strategic Energy Review.

Israel: Religious Freedom

Eddie McGrady: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the effects of restrictions placed on the movements of seminarians in Jerusalem by the Israeli authorities in the Christmas period; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: We have made no assessment on this specific issue but we have long standing concerns about Israeli restrictions on movement and access for many groups.

Jestina Mukoko

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of Zimbabwe regarding the seizure of Jestina Mukoko, executive director of the Zimbabwe Peace Project; what steps he is taking to secure her release; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: We are seriously concerned about the abduction of Jestina Mukoko and others from the Zimbabwe Peace Project. On 6 December and with our full support, the French presidency of the EU issued a statement expressing the EU's deep concern and calling on the government of Zimbabwe to ensure her immediate freedom. This was conveyed to the Zimbabwean Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Harare in a démarche by the EU Troika on 8 December. Until she and all other abductees are released and internationally accepted standards of human rights are restored, we shall continue to call for an end to all such human rights abuses in Zimbabwe.

Middle East: Armed Conflict

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions  (a) he,  (b) Ministers and  (c) officials in his Department have had with the government of Israel on suicide bombings in Israel; what recent representations he has received on the subject; and if he will make a statement.

Bill Rammell: The last suicide bomb in Israel was in Eilat in January 2007. The vast majority of attacks against Israelis in the past year have been rocket attacks fired from Gaza at towns in the south of Israel.
	My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary visited Sderot with the Israeli Defence Minister on his recent visit to Israel and expressed his concerns on these attacks.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

William Hague: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the proposed meeting of Israeli and Palestinian leaders in London in December 2008 is scheduled to take place; whether representatives of any other countries will be invited to attend; what the objectives of the meeting are; and if he will make a statement.

David Miliband: Palestinian Prime Minister Fayyad and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert visited London earlier this week. They had separate meetings with my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister. There was no trilateral meeting nor were representatives of other countries present at the separate meetings.

St. Helena

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which endangered species exist on  (a) St. Helena,  (b) Ascension Island and  (c) Tristan Da Cunha; and what steps the Government has taken to encourage environment conservation on the islands.

Gillian Merron: The following table, prepared by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), lists 60 endangered species on St. Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha. The IUCN is the internationally recognised source of information on global endangered species.
	In 2001, the Government signed Environment Charters with the Overseas Territories, including with St. Helena and its dependencies. The charters consist of a list of commitments for the Government and individual overseas territory governments to take forward to protect and safeguard the environment of each territory.
	The Government provide funding through the Overseas Territories Environment Programme, a joint Foreign and Commonwealth Office and Department for International Development-funded programme, to assist the territories with the implementation of the charters. Assistance to encourage environment conservation on St. Helena, Ascension Island and Tristan da Cunha is also provided through the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs-funded Darwin initiative.
	
		
			  Class/  Kingdom  Phylum  Order  Family  Latin name  Species  Common name 
			  Insecta 
			 Animalia Arthropoda Dermaptera Labiduridae Labidura herculeana Herculeana Saint Helena Earwig, 
			  Actinopterygii 
			 Animalia Chordata Gadiformes Moridae Physiculus helenaensis Helenaensis Skulpin 
			 Animalia Chordata Perciformes Callionymidae Callionymus sanctaehelenae Sanctaehelenae St. Helena Dragonet 
			 Animalia Chordata Perciformes Scombridae Thunnus maccoyii Maccoyii Southern Bluefin Tuna 
			  Aves 
			 Animalia Chordata Charadriiformes Charadriidae Charadrius sanctaehelenae Sanctaehelenae St. Helena Plover 
			 Animalia Chordata Passeriformes Emberizidae Rowettia goughensis Goughensis Gough Bunting 
			 Animalia Chordata Procellariiformes Diomedeidae Diomedea dabbenena Dabbenena Tristan Albatross 
			  Polypodiopsida 
			 Plantae Polypodiophyta Blechnales Lomariopsidaceae Elaphoglossum dimorphum Dimorphum — 
			 Plantae Polypodiophyta Pteridales Pteridaceae Pteris adscensionis Adscensionis — 
			  Magnoliopsida 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Asterales Compositae Commidendrum spurium Spurium False Gumwood 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Asterales Compositae Lachanodes arborea Arborea She Cabbage Tree 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Asterales Compositae Pladaroxylon leucadendron Leucadendron HE Cabbage Tree 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Campanulales Campanulaceae Wahlenbergia linifolia Linifolia Large Bellflower 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Caryophyllales Chenopodiaceae Atriplex plebeja Plebeja — 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Euphorbiales Euphorbiaceae Euphorbia origanoides Origanoides Ascension Spurge 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Malvales Sterculiaceae Trochetiopsis ebenus Ebenus Ebony, St . Helena Ebony 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Rhamnales Rhamnaceae Phylica polifolia Polifolia Rosemary, St Helena Rosemary 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Solanales Solanaceae Mellissia begonifolia Begonifolia — 
			  Aves 
			 Animalia Chordata Procellariiformes Diomedeidae Diomedea sanfordi Sanfordi Northern Royal Albatross 
			 Animalia Chordata Procellariiformes Diomedeidae Phoebetria fusca Fusca Sooty Albatross 
			 Animalia Chordata Procellariiformes Diomedeidae Thalassarche chlororhynchos Chlororhynchos Atlantic Yellow-Nosed Albatross 
			 Animalia Chordata Procellariiformes Procellariidae Pterodroma incerta Incerta Atlantic Petrel 
			 Animalia Chordata Sphenisciformes Spheniscidae Eudyptes moseleyi Moseleyi — 
			  Mamalia 
			 Animalia Chordata Cetartiodactyla Balaenopteridae Balaenoptera musculus Musculus — 
			  Reptilia 
			 Animalia Chordata Testudines Cheloniidae Chelonia mydas Mydas Green Turtle 
			  Polypodiopsida 
			 Plantae Polypodiophyta Blechnales Lomariopsidaceae Elaphoglossum nervosum Nervosum Veined Tongue-Fern 
			  Liliopsida 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Cyperales Gramineae Agrostis trachychlaena Trachychlaena — 
			  Magnoliopsida 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Apiales Umbelliferae Sium burchellii Burchellii Dwarf Jellico 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Asterales Compositae Commidendrum robustum Robustum Gumwood 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Asterales Compositae Petrobium arboreum Arboreum Whitewood 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Campanulales Campanulaceae Trimeris scaevolifolia Scaevolifolia — 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Campanulales Campanulaceae Wahlenbergia angustifolia Angustifolia Small Bellflower 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Rubiales Rubiaceae Nesohedyotis arborea Arborea Dogwood 
			  Actinopterygii 
			 Animalia Chordata Perciformes Labridae Thalassoma ascensionis Ascensionis — 
			 Animalia Chordata Perciformes Pomacanthidae Centropyge resplendens Resplendens Resplendent Pygmy Angelfish 
			 Animalia Chordata Perciformes Pomacentridae Chromis sanctaehelenae Sanctaehelenae — 
			 Animalia Chordata Perciformes Pomacentridae Stegastes sanctaehelenae Sanctaehelenae — 
			 Animalia Chordata Perciformes Scombridae Thunnus obesus Obesus Bigeye Tuna 
			 Animalia Chordata Scorpaeniformes Scorpaenidae Pontinus nigropunctatus Nigropunctatus Deepwater Jack 
			 Animalia Chordata Tetraodontiformes Balistidae Balistes vetula Vetula Queen Triggerfish 
			  Aves 
			 Animalia Chordata Gruiformes Rallidae Atlantisia rogersi Rogersi Inaccessible Rail 
			 Animalia Chordata Gruiformes Rallidae Gallinula comeri Comeri Gough Moorhen 
			 Animalia Chordata Passeriformes Emberizidae Nesospiza acunhae Acunhae Tristan Bunting 
			 Animalia Chordata Passeriformes Emberizidae Nesospiza wilkinsi Wilkinsi Grosbeak Bunting 
			 Animalia Chordata Pelecaniformes Fregatidae Fregata aquila Aquila Ascension Frigatebird 
			 Animalia Chordata Procellariiformes Diomedeidae Diomedea epomophora Epomophora Southern Royal Albatross 
			 Animalia Chordata Procellariiformes Diomedeidae Diomedea exulans Exulans Wandering Albatross 
			 Animalia Chordata Procellariiformes Diomedeidae Thalassarche chrysostoma Chrysostoma Grey-Headed Albatross 
			 Animalia Chordata Procellariiformes Procellariidae Procellaria aequinoctialis Aequinoctialis White-Chinned Petrel 
			 Animalia Chordata Procellariiformes Procellariidae Procellaria conspicillata Conspicillata Spectacled Petrel 
			  Chondrichthyes 
			 Animalia Chordata Carcharhiniformes Carcharhinidae Carcharhinus longimanus Longimanus Oceanic Whitetip Shark, White-Tipped Shark, Whitetip Oceanic Shark, Whitetip Shark 
			  Mammalia 
			 Animalia Chordata Cetartiodactyla Physeteridae Physeter macrocephalus Macrocephalus Cachelot, Pot Whale, Sperm Whale, Spermacet Whale 
			  Enopla 
			 Animalia Nemertina Hoplonemertea Prosorhochmidae Katechonemertes nightingaleensis Nightingaleensis — 
			  Polypodiopsida 
			 Plantae Polypodiophyta Blechnales Lomariopsidaceae Elaphoglossum bifurcatum Bifurcatum — 
			  Liliopsida 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Cyperales Gramineae Sporobolus caespitosus Caespitosus — 
			  Magnoliopsida 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Apiales Umbelliferae Sium bracteatum Bracteatum Jellico, Large Jellico 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Asterales Compositae Commidendrum rugosum Rugosum Scrubwood 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Asterales Compositae Cotula moseleyi Moseleyi — 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Asterales Compositae Melanodendron integrifolium Integrifolium Black Cabbage Tree 
			 Plantae Tracheophyta Violales Frankeniaceae Frankenia portulacifolia Portulacifolia St Helena Tea, Tea Plant

Sudan: Peacekeeping Operations

Tom Clarke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs if he will hold discussions with his US counterpart on the future prospects for a no-fly zone over Sudan; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary has regular discussions with his US counterpart on Sudan. We are working closely with the US to resolve the conflict in Darfur including through support to both the political process and the peacekeeping mission, and pressing all parties to end the conflict and commit to a full ceasefire.
	We are not currently proposing a no-fly zone for Darfur. We assess that a no-fly zone would restrict essential humanitarian operations and be a major logistical challenge due to the size of Darfur and the lack of available air assets. The African Union-UN Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) is mandated to monitor military activity, including flights prohibited by UN Security Council Resolution 1591. We continue to press all parties for the rapid and full deployment of UNAMID.

Wines

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how many bottles of  (a) blue chip list wines,  (b) fine wines,  (c) reception or drinking wines and  (d) spirits and liqueurs were held in the Government wine cellar managed by his Department in each of the last five years; what the estimated value of each type of drink and of the Government wine cellar in total was in each year; how much was spent on (i) blue chip list wines, (ii) fine wines, (iii) reception or drinking wines and (iv) spirits and liqueurs for the Government wine cellar in each of those years; what the expenditure on the Government wine cellar was in each of those years; what proportion of the cellar stock is currently English wine; and what the policy is in respect of the procurement of English wines for the cellar.

Gillian Merron: Government Hospitality in Protocol Directorate of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office is responsible for the management of the Government Wine Cellar.
	Government Hospitality defines the cellar stock as either "fine" or "beverage" wines. Over the last five years the cellar stock has amounted to between 36, 500 and 40, 000 bottles. From this total, approximately 2 000 bottles are "reception" or "beverage" wines, and approximately 35, 000 are "fine" wines. The stock of spirits and liqueurs is approximately 200 bottles. The overall value of the cellar stock is approximately £790,000.
	Government Hospitality has recorded the following expenditure on new stock for the cellar over the past five financial years:
	
		
			  £ 
			 2003-04 93,503 
			 2004-05 60,059 
			 2005-06 95,264 
			 2006-07 108,715 
			 2007-08 137,460 
		
	
	English and Welsh wine forms approximately 5 per cent. of the total cellar stock. Government Hospitality has had a policy of purchasing English and Welsh wines for over 20 years. Wines are selected for their quality and longevity, and their suitability for use with a range of British produce.

NORTHERN IRELAND

AccessNI

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the nature is of the implementation issues experienced by AccessNI upon taking over background checks from the Police Service of Northern Ireland on 1 April 2008.

Paul Goggins: Initially, AccessNI did not have sufficient staff to cope with the applications received. These problems have now been resolved and AccessNI is meeting all its service standards.

AccessNI

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what work was undertaken by AccessNI in conjunction with other bodies in the UK to establish best practice prior to taking over the background checks form the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Paul Goggins: AccessNI was established through a joint programme that comprised representatives from the Northern Ireland Office, the Department of Education, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety and the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
	The programme team consulted with the Criminal Records Bureau and Disclosure Scotland.

AccessNI

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what work has been undertaken to rectify the implementation issues experienced by AccessNI upon taking over background checks from the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and what assessment he has made of the effectiveness of such work.

Paul Goggins: Additional staff have been appointed and the working hours extended. As a result of these actions I can confirm that AccessNI is now meeting its service standards.

AccessNI

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what (a) resources and (b) personnel have been made available to Access NI in its first year of operation; and what assessment he has made of AccessNI's ability to perform the functions it assumed from the Police Service of Northern Ireland regarding background checks.

Paul Goggins: AccessNI was established on 1 April 2008 and has been in operation for less than nine months. All necessary resources to enable AccessNI to achieve its service targets have been made available. This has included additional staffing, including both permanent and temporary, the creation of overtime at weekends and evenings and the provision of additional accommodation.
	Initially AccessNI had a total of 22 staff but due to the heavier than expected workload this number increased to its current total of 57 (or 63 if Identity and Passport Service Staff are included). This number includes both permanent and temporary staff.
	It is important to note that while criminal history searches for certain posts had previously been carried out by the PSNI, the checks carried out now are more stringent than in the past.
	I am pleased to report that AccessNI is now meeting all of its service standards.

Departmental Consultants

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 12 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1209W, on departmental consultants, which organisations were used as external consultants in  (a) the last 12 months and  (b) the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The information on which organisations were used as external consultants in  (a) the last 12 months and  (b) the last three years is detailed in the following lists.
	 (a) Organisations used as external consultants for the period April 2007 to March 2008:
	NI Youth Forum
	ASM Howarth
	Isherwood and Ellis
	Anderson Spratt
	Disability Action
	EC Harris
	Kairos
	Goldblatt McGuigan
	Real Asset Management
	Deloitte
	Moore Stephens
	DLA Piper
	FGS McClure Watters
	22 Care Work
	Carter Goble Associates
	Capita Learning and Development
	PKF (Panel, Kerr and Foster) Consultancy
	Myles Danker Estate Management Advice
	PR Services
	Price Waterhouse Cooper
	Quest Consulting
	BDO Stoy Hayward
	Northern Defence Industries Ltd.
	Building Design Partnership
	Whitewater
	Siemens
	L'Estrange and Brett
	Mosiac
	T and S International
	Mott Macdonald
	NI Peacebuilders
	UKAS (Accredited Testing for Laboratories)
	Deramore Consulting
	Carnagh Communication
	Quality Business Management
	Web Design Solutions
	Al Consultancy
	Jura Consultants
	iB Solutions
	Helm Corporation
	RWDP Ltd.
	IT Alliance
	KPMG
	No Tomatoes
	British Telecom
	Grafton Recruitment
	Graphic Printing Service
	Mentec
	The Old School
	Coppernoise
	Net-Finity
	Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust
	Label One Ltd.
	Quadrant
	Odgers, Ray and Berndston
	Peninsula Print and Design Ltd.
	Microsoft
	Jenkinson Consulting
	Page Setup
	SELEX
	ICS Computing Ltd.
	Milward Brown Ulster
	Qinetig
	Fujitsu
	 (b) Organisations used as external consultants is not available for the last five years and to obtain this information would incur disproportionate costs. The following list provides information on organisations used as external consultants for the periods April 2006 to March 2007 and April 2005 to March 2006:
	 For the period April 2006 to March 2007 :
	Deloitte
	L'Estrange and Brett
	Tim Lewis Recruitment
	Grafton Recruitment
	OGC Strategic Assignment Consultancy Service
	Osprey Mott MacDonald
	CPCR Ltd.
	T and S International
	Parasol
	Parity
	Scrutiny Panel
	Singularity
	AH Design
	Dream Group Ltd.
	British Telecom
	Jenkinson Consultancy
	Crown Architectural
	Mentec International Ltd.
	Price Waterhouse Coopers
	ARCS (UK) Ltd.
	BIC Systems
	The Whitehall and Industry Group
	Defence Science and Technology Laboratory
	Hewlett Packard
	Stredia
	NI Youth Forum
	RPS Group plc
	Young Minds
	Community Dialogue
	PA Consulting Group
	Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy
	Anderson Spratt
	DLA Piper
	Anne McMurray Consulting Ltd.
	Keppie Design
	Photobase
	Martin Allnutt and Associates
	Operational Team
	BDS Solutions
	JBM Consultants Ltd.
	Building Design Partnership
	Biznet
	Watts and Partners
	Newell and Budge
	Aedas
	BDO Stoy Hayward
	Cleaver Fulton Rankin
	Queens University Belfast
	 For the period April 2005 to March 2006 :
	CPCR Ltd
	OGC Strategic Assignment Consultancy Service
	Daniell Consulting
	Deloitte
	T and S International
	Watts and Partners
	Williamson Consulting
	Keppies Design
	IB Solutions
	Grafton Recruitment
	L'Estrange and Brett
	BDO Stoy Hayward
	Jenkinson Consulting
	Napier Watson
	AH Design
	Parity
	Colin Burrows CICS Ltd
	ASM Horwath
	PricewaterhouseCoopers
	Anderson Spratt
	Tim Lewis Recruitment
	Clariteq Systems Consulting
	AASK
	The Test Store
	Penna PLC
	Turley Associates
	Osprey Mott MacDonald
	TTC International
	Clare Consulting
	PA Consulting
	DLA Piper
	Cleaver Fulton and Rankin
	Securetest
	Anderson Spratt
	BB Consultancy Ltd.
	Parasol
	MMMA
	Aedas
	ICS Computing
	Queens University Belfast
	Building Design Partnership
	Hewlett Packard
	Forensic Science Services
	Karolyn Cooper Drafting Services
	Mentec International Ltd
	JBM Consultants Ltd
	Crown Architectural
	The Whitehall and Industry Group

Departmental Early Retirement

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his Department's policy is on early retirement.

Shaun Woodward: Early retirement is governed by the rules of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS) or Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme NI (PCSPSNI). The Department considers each individual case on its merits and in accordance with business needs.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Pete Wishart: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on Ministerial hospitality in  (a) 2004-05,  (b) 2005-06,  (c) 2006-07 and  (d) 2007-08, expressed in current prices.

Paul Goggins: Departmental expenditure on ministerial hospitality is not recorded in a way that is easily identifiable and so to provide the information requested could be done only at disproportionate cost.
	Expenditure on hospitality is set out in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 881W, on departmental hospitality, if he will list each of the events hosted.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is as follows:
	Spring reception for representatives from the business, community and voluntary sectors in Northern Ireland;
	Reception hosted by the Prime Minister;
	Royal Garden Party attended by HM Queen and HRH Duke of Edinburgh held at university of Ulster, Coleraine, Co. Antrim;
	Summer garden party for representatives of the Northern Ireland Prison Service;
	Summer garden party for representatives from the business, community and voluntary sectors in Northern Ireland;
	Summer reception for representatives from the business, community and voluntary sectors;
	Reception to mark contribution of the General Federation of Trade Unions;
	Reception to mark honorary awards made to the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning;
	Reception for the Northern Ireland Affairs Select Committee;
	Reception to mark the opening of a gallery at Hillsborough Castle;
	Reception for Vital Voices;
	Reception for RUC Widows Association;
	Reception to mark elevation of Archbishop Brady to become a Cardinal;
	Reception to mark contribution of the charity Childline;
	Christmas reception for representatives of the criminal justice community in Northern Ireland;
	Christmas reception for representatives of the police and military community in Northern Ireland;
	Christmas reception for representatives from the business, community and voluntary sectors in Northern Ireland;
	Christmas reception for key Northern Ireland stakeholders in London;
	Reception to mark royal investiture ceremony;
	Spring reception for representatives from the business, community and voluntary sectors in Northern Ireland.
	I also hosted several meetings with private individuals at which hospitality was provided in the course of my normal duties.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 881W, on departmental hospitality, where each of the events was held.

Paul Goggins: The events referred to in the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 881W, were all held at Hillsborough Castle with the exception of the royal garden party at Coleraine, Co. Antrim and the Christmas reception held at the Northern Ireland Office in London.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 881W, on departmental hospitality, which firms were used to supply hospitality.

Paul Goggins: The hospitality referred to in the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 881W, was provided in Northern Ireland through a tendered contract with catering company Hamilton and Kirk.

Departmental Pay

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 30 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 1169-70W, on departmental pay, how many people did not receive bonuses.

Shaun Woodward: In 2007-08, 1,084 people did not receive a bonus.

Departmental Pay

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 30 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 1169-70W, on departmental pay, what procedure is used to decide whether bonuses should be awarded.

Shaun Woodward: The Northern Ireland Office operates three bonus schemes.
	Directors (senior civil service pay band 2) have delegated authority to award special bonuses in their business areas throughout the reporting year, which are available for all staff up to assistant director level. Nominations for special bonus awards can be made by any member of staff at any stage during the year and each director is responsible for assessing those recommendations for staff within his/her directorate and approving payment, as appropriate. This is normally done on a quarterly basis.
	Annual performance related bonuses for staff below the senior civil service are part of the NIO's overall pay arrangements. Individual bonus recommendations are made by line managers and moderated by panels across the Department under the supervision of more senior managers.
	Bonuses for SCS staff are calculated on the basis of the Government's response to the recommendations of the Senior Salaries Review Body. Individual bonus recommendations are made by line managers and these are moderated by a number of remuneration committees with the involvement of a non-executive director.

Departmental Pay

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 30 October 2008,  Official Report, columns 1169-70W, on departmental pay, how many non-pensionable bonuses have been awarded to members of staff in his Department in the last five years; and what the cost was of such bonuses.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office operates three bonus schemes. All bonuses paid under these are non-consolidated. The Special Bonus Scheme rewards particularly meritorious contributions during the year. The two end of year bonus schemes reward performance and delivery throughout the year for Grade D2 to A staff, and for Senior Civil Service staff. The numbers and cost of these over the last five years are set out in the following tables.
	
		
			  Special bonuses 
			   Number of awards  Total cost (£) 
			 2007-08 811 229,028 
			 2006-07 1,006 209,866 
			 2005-06 773 174,917 
			 2004-05 793 176,217 
			 2003-04 666 133,736 
		
	
	
		
			  End of year bonuses 
			   Number of awards  Total cost (£) 
			 2008 409 609,875 
			 2007 324 557,270 
			 2006 292 502,667 
			 2005 1,731 476,299 
			 2004 1,670 362,930

Departmental Retirement

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many people have retired from his Department in each of the last five years, broken down by age.

Shaun Woodward: The following tables provide details of the number of staff who have retired from the Department in each of the last five years.
	
		
			  Between age 60 and 65 
			   60  61  62  63  64  65 
			 2004-05 4 — 1 — — — 
			 2005-06 8 — 3 — — 3 
			 2006-07 11 — 2 1 — 2 
			 2007-08 8 2 2 2 3 2 
			 2008-09 (to date) 6 1 — — — 4 
		
	
	
		
			  Actuarially reduced retirement 
			   50  52  58  59 
			 2004-05 — — 1 — 
			 2005-06 1 — — — 
			 2006-07 — — — 1 
			 2007-08 2 — — 2 
			 2008-09 (to date) — 1 — — 
		
	
	
		
			  Early retirement 
			   56  57  58  59 
			 2004-05 1 2 3 1 
			 2005-06 1 1 4 — 
			 2006-07 — — 1 1 
			 2007-08 — — — 1 
			 2008-09 (to date) — — — 1

Departmental Television

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 885-6W, on television, what the makes were of the televisions purchased by his Department; and how many of each make were bought.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office, excluding its Agencies and Executive NDPBs, purchased six televisions in the year 2007-08 at a total cost of £2,415.
	The makes were:
	Panasonic (4),
	Bush (1)
	and Toshiba (1).

Departmental Travel

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 882W, on departmental travel, how much has been spent on hotels used by his staff in the last 12 months; and if he will list the hotels used.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Office (NIO), excluding its agencies and executive NDPBs, spent £200,601 on hotels during 2007-08.
	Other miscellaneous expenditure which may have been incurred during hotel stays, such as business related telephone calls, are reclaimed as expenses and costs could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	Information on the names of hotels regularly used by NIO staff has not been provided in the interests of staff security.
	All expenditure has to be incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety. In doing so the NIO always seeks to obtain the best value hotels available, that are within a reasonable travelling distance of the destination, obtaining the best prices for hotels rooms at the time of booking and making use of Government rates where available.

Departmental Visits Abroad

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  how many members of staff of his Department travelled abroad on official business in each of the last 12 months;
	(2)  with reference to the answer of 24 November 2008,  Official Report, column 882W, on departmental travel, how many members of staff had their international travel paid for by his Department in the last 12 months.

Shaun Woodward: The number of staff who travelled abroad in each of the last 12 months is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   2007  2008 
			   Nov  Dec  Jan  Feb  Mar  Apr  May  Jun  Jul  Aug  Sep  Oct 
			 USA 4 0 0 0 8 1 1 0 3 1 3 2 
			 Europe 5 0 3 2 4 8 0 (1)9 4 0 4 2 
			 Republic of Ireland—Flights(2) 4 0 4 3 3 3 1 3 3 0 6 6 
			 Republic of Ireland—Rail 14 3 6 8 0 9 8 7 11 10 4 14 
			 (1) Five of these staff travelled on the Eurostar. (2) Journeys made to the Republic of Ireland by staff using their private car cannot be identified except at disproportionate cost. 
		
	
	All official business travel undertaken by staff is paid for by the Department.

Immigrants

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many  (a) EU and  (b) non-EU foreign nationals have been resident in Northern Ireland in each of the last five years.

Shaun Woodward: The Government's information on the number of European economic area and non-European economic area nationals within the UK is not broken down by region of residence.
	The collation of Northern Ireland demographic statistics, along with the provision of official information on Northern Ireland's population, is a devolved matter which is the responsibility of the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA), an Executive agency within the Northern Ireland Department of Finance and Personnel.

Police: Training

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the latest estimate of the cost of  (a) construction and  (b) operation is of the new Police and Emergency Services Training facility at Cookstown in its first year of operation.

Paul Goggins: The Desertcreat college will provide education and training for operational and support staff within the police, prison and fire and rescue services.
	The current estimated construction cost of the college is £150 million. The current estimated running cost in the first year of operations is £6-£8 million.

Prisoners Transfers

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many prisoners were removed from Northern Ireland under prisoner transfer agreements in the last year for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: In the 12-month period commencing 1 November 2007, nine prisoners were removed from Northern Ireland under prisoner transfer agreements—eight to establishments in England and Wales, and one to the Irish Prison Service.

Queen Elizabeth II: Anniversaries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what plans his Department has to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Shaun Woodward: My Department has not, at this stage, developed plans on how mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen in 2012.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in discussions with the Royal Household about how to mark the Diamond Jubilee.

Reoffenders

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland with reference to the answer of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1321W, on reoffenders, what assessment he has made of how the reoffending rates for Northern Ireland compare to  (a) the UK and  (b) other parts of the UK.

Paul Goggins: With reference to the answer given on 13 November 2008, published reoffending rate cohorts for those discharged from custody in England and Wales are compared with similar Northern Ireland reoffending rate cohorts in the following tables.
	
		
			  2004 q uarter 1 cohort (England and Wales)  2004 calendar year cohort (Northern Ireland) 
			  Age (discharged from custody)  Number  of offenders  One year reoffending rate (percentage)  Age (discharged from custody)  Number  of offenders  One year reoffending rate (percentage) 
			 10 to 17 815 76.4 10 to 17 60 76.7 
			 18+ 15,761 51.9 18+ 826 32.0 
		
	
	
		
			  2005 q uarter 1 cohort (England and Wales)  2005 calendar year cohort (Northern Ireland) 
			  Age (discharged from custody)  Number  of offenders  One year reoffending rate (percentage)  Age (discharged from custody)  Number  of offenders  One year reoffending rate (percentage) 
			 10 to 17 844 73.1 10 to 17 60 71.7 
			 18+ 14,595 49.1 18+ 843 37.1 
		
	
	
		
			  2006 quarter 1 cohort (England and Wales)  2006 calendar year cohort (Northern Ireland) 
			  Age (discharged from custody)  Number of offenders  One year reoffending rate (percentage)  Age (discharged from custody)  Number of offenders  One year reoffending rate (percentage) 
			 10 to 17 817 77.0 10 to 17 41 70.7 
			 18+ 14,380 46.5 18+ 986 37.7

Reoffenders

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  with reference to the answer of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1321W, on reoffenders, if he will provide updated figures for the categories of information given in the answer;
	(2)  with reference to the answer of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1321W, on reoffenders, if he will provide a breakdown by relevant offence of the reoffending rates within  (a) 12 months and  (b) three years; and what percentage of offenders in each category were aged (i) between 16 and 21, (ii) between 22 and 25, (iii) between 26 and 30, (iv) between 31 and 40, (v) between 41 and 50, (vi) between 51 and 65 and (vii) over 65 years;
	(3)  what percentage of all former prisoners in Northern Ireland had reoffended following release from custody on the latest date for which figures are available.

Paul Goggins: The information requested is as follows:
	 (a) During the calendar year 2006, there were 437 prisoners released from adult or juvenile custody in Northern Ireland who were aged 16 to 25 on the date they were given a custodial sentence. During the twelve months following the date of their release, 225 of these ex prisoners committed a proven offence. This represents a one year reoffending rate of 51.5 per cent.
	 (b) During the calendar year 2004, there were 406 prisoners released from adult or juvenile custody in Northern Ireland who were aged 16 to 25 on the date they were given a custodial sentence. During the three years following the date of their release, 304 of these ex prisoners committed a proven offence. This represents a three year reoffending rate of 74.9 per cent.
	 (c) Table 1 gives breakdowns of reoffending rates within 12 months by age and index offence for the 2006 cohort and Table 2 the equivalent figures within three years for the 2004 cohort.
	
		
			  Table 1 
			   Age  
			  Index offence  Less than 16  16-21  22-25  26-30  31-40  41-50  51-65  Over 65  Total 
			 Violence against the person 80 58 23 24 20 19 0 0 31 
			 Sexual 0 38 17 13 9 13 0 25 13 
			 Burglary 0 62 70 80 55 25 0 0 62 
			 Robbery 100 39 41 60 16 50 0 0 38 
			 Theft 80 71 57 43 47 33 50 0 58 
			 Fraud and forgery 0 0 60 40 0 17 0 0 25 
			 Criminal damage 80 71 50 50 50 57 0 0 58 
			 Motoring offences 0 64 19 31 33 18 40 100 31 
			 Drug offences 0 40 27 17 10 0 0 0 17 
			 Other 67 74 65 19 50 45 43 0 54 
			 Total 79 60 40 32 29 25 18 33 39 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2 
			   Age  
			  Index offence  Less than 16  16-21  22-25  26-30  31-40  41-50  51-65  Over 65  Total 
			 Violence against the person 100 68 50 67 51 29, 17, 0 55 
			 Sexual 100 50 50 0 23 0 6 0 15 
			 Burglary 100 98 87 92 45 50 0 0 87 
			 Robbery 0 75 83 57 60 50 0 0 70 
			 Theft 100 96 72 40 57 67 0 0 81 
			 Fraud and forgery 0 33 50 75 36 25 0 0 42 
			 Criminal damage 0 92 70 71 82 33 100 0 75 
			 Motoring offences 0 75 75 61 63 47 67 0 65 
			 Drug offences 0 100 47 63 59 17 0 0 53 
			 Other 100 74 53 57 73 64 43 0 66 
			 Total 100 82 65 61 56 39 28 0 63 
		
	
	 (d) During the calendar year 2006, there were 1,027 prisoners of all ages released from adult or juvenile custody in Northern Ireland. During the twelve months following the date of their release, 401 of these ex prisoners committed a proven offence. This represents a one year reoffending rate of 39.0 per cent.
	 (e) During the calendar year 2004, there were 886 prisoners of all ages released from adult or juvenile custody in Northern Ireland. During the three years following the date of their release, 557 of these ex prisoners committed a proven offence. This represents a three year reoffending rate of 62.9 per cent.

Written Questions: Government Responses

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland 
	(1)  for what reason he did not reply in writing to question 212556 on prosecutions for offences involving agricultural vehicles tabled by the hon. Member for Thurrock on 17 June 2008; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  how many prosecutions for offences involving agricultural vehicles with inadequate lighting there have been in Northern Ireland in the last two years; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Goggins: According to my Department's records, question No. 212556 was withdrawn on 25 June 2008. I apologise if there has been any confusion.
	Inadequate lighting on agricultural vehicles does not constitute a separate offence by legislation and therefore the data are not available in the format requested.

TRANSPORT

A12: Colchester

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects work to start on a junction between the A12 and the Northern Approach Road at Colchester.

Paul Clark: Delivery of this scheme is related to planning conditions and is a matter for developers to take forward in line with plans for delivery of proposed housing, employment and leisure facilities in north Colchester. The road scheme must also complete the necessary statutory processes. In view of this, a precise start date is not currently available but work is expected to start in 2009, subject to a detailed review of engineering issues.

Bus Services: Concessions

Sharon Hodgson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he plans to bring section 10 of the Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 into force.

Paul Clark: Section 10 of the Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 contains a power to introduce mutual recognition of concessionary bus passes across the UK. We have no immediate plans to implement it at this stage. Introducing UK-wide recognition of passes would be a highly complex undertaking and not without cost.
	The Government's immediate priority has been to improve the concessionary travel entitlement of those eligible in England and I feel it would be useful to have a period of stability while the new England-wide concession beds in.

Bus Services: Concessions

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many people in the East Riding of Yorkshire have a concessionary bus pass for over 60-year-olds; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport is not responsible for issuing passes and so does not maintain records of how many applications individual authorities have received.
	The last information held by the Department was that as of 30 November this year, East Riding of Yorkshire's card supplier had dispatched 62,781 new smartcard concessionary passes for older and disabled people.

Carbon Emissions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will place in the Library copies of correspondence his Department has had with  (a) UK Members of the European Parliament and  (b) the European Commissioner on the proposal to limit emissions from new cars to 120g of carbon dioxide for every kilometre travelled by 2012.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The UK has been fully involved in negotiations on the European new car CO2 regulation—which would set an average (not limit) of 130gCO2/km by 2012—both with the European Commission and the European Parliament. In the years since the Commission's intention to legislate was first made public, many items of correspondence—estimated at several hundred pieces of information—have been exchanged: these cannot be easily distinguished from other policy items without incurring disproportionate cost. Details of correspondence with MEPs are not normally disclosed.

Climate Change

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of its capacity to adapt to climate change; and what plans he has to publish a climate change adaptation strategy.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Government are working on measures to mitigate climate change, for example in transport we have played a key role in negotiations on new car efficiency standards and worked in Europe to include aviation in the European Emissions Trading Scheme. However, we recognise we must plan to adapt to those changes in climate that are unavoidable and their impacts on Britain's transport network.
	As part of our 'Delivering a Sustainable Transport System' strategy, published in November 2008 and on which we are currently consulting, we have included adapting to climate change through investing in programmes and projects that enable us to adapt the transport system over time to anticipated changing demands in the changing climate. Further details are available at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/about/strategy/transportstrategy/dasts/dastsreport.pclf
	In July 2008 Government published their response for adapting to the possible impacts of climate change in its adaptation strategy, details of which are available at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/adapt/index.htm
	Actions on transport have included:
	Working closely with Network Rail in designing methodologies to ensure renewal work incorporates increased resilience and that the network can withstand future climate related events.
	Establishing a cross-rail industry forum and commissioning research to identify and address challenges to the railway and produce hazard maps highlighting vulnerable areas,
	Completing research on adapting materials and techniques in highway works to the changing climate which will be published, by the Highways Agency, as a guide for local authorities.
	The Highways Agency's assessment of how to manage the risks from climate change to its strategic road network and has already improved drainage and road surface standards to increase resilience.

Dartford River Crossing

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many vehicles (a) used and  (b) were predicted before the start of the year to use the Dartford River Crossing in each of the last 12 months which paid by (i) cash and (ii) Dart Tag; and how many used the crossing in each month of the previous 12 months and paid by cash.

Paul Clark: The following tables set out the information requested:
	
		
			   December  January  February  March  April  May  June 
			  Actual 2006-07
			 Cash vehicles 3,345,218 2,872,483 2,850,899 3,311,800 3,412,657 3,494,516 3,485,125 
			 Dart Tag vehicles 874,264 1,016,204 953,081 1,086,697 973,733 1,061,490 1,040,529 
			 Total 4,219,482 3,888,687 3,803,980 4,398,497 4,386,390 4,556,006 4,525,654 
			 
			  Projected 2007-08
			 Cash vehicles 3,326,414 2,861,881 2,837,276 3,313,699 3,378,530 3,459,571 3,450,274 
			 Dart Tag vehicles 875,733 1,013,047 953,834 1,077,047 963,996 1,050,875 1,030,124 
			 Total 4,202,147 3,874,928 3,791,110 4,390,746 4,342,526 4,510,446 4,480,397 
			 
			  Actual 2007-08
			 Cash vehicles 3,242,760 2,888,191 2,976,707 3,223,931 3,232,646 3,437,826 3,347,945 
			 Dart Tag vehicles 854,054 1,049,550 1,026,015 984,399 1,076,323 1,028,338 1,041,806 
			 Total 4,096,814 3,937,741 4,002,722 4,208,330 4,308,969 4,466,164 4,389,751 
		
	
	
		
			   July  August  September  October  November  Total 
			  Actual 2006-07   
			 Cash vehicles 3,633,070 3,780,282 3,486,060 3,427,395 3,187,061 40,286,566 
			 Dart Tag vehicles 1,057,714 1,010,793 996,365 1,088,126 1,063,974 12,222,970 
			 Total 4,690,784 4,791,075 4,482,425 4,515,521 4,251,035 52,509,536 
			
			  Projected 2007-08   
			 Cash vehicles 3,596,739 3,742,479 3,451,199 3,393,121 3,155,190 39,966,374 
			 Dart Tag vehicles 1,047,137 1,000,685 986,401 1,077,245 1,053,334 12,129,458 
			 Total 4,643,876 4,743,164 4,437,601 4,470,366 4,208,525 52,095,832 
			
			  Actual 2007-08   
			 Cash vehicles 3,597,970 3,729,553 3,304,591 3,347,900 2,790,671 39,120,691 
			 Dart Tag vehicles 1,098,397 941,550 1,055,653 1,122,481 1,031,550 12,310,116 
			 Total 4,696,367 4,671,103 4,360,244 4,470,381 3,822,221 51,430,807

Departmental Correspondence

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to reply to the letter of 15 October 2008, sent by Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott MEP, on the M.V. Coronia, Directive 98/18/EC and point 4.3 of the Merchant Shipping (Passenger Ships on Domestic Voyages) Regulations 2000.

Jim Fitzpatrick: I hope to write to Mr. Edward McMillan-Scott MEP addressing the issues he has put to the Secretary of State about the M.V. Coronia within the next few days.

Departmental Disabled Staff

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what conclusions his Department has reached in fulfilment of its duty under section 3.111 of the statutory code of practice of the disability equality duty.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport has reviewed its progress against the commitments given in its Disability Equality Scheme, as it is required to do under section 3.111 of the statutory code of practice of the Disability Equality Duty.
	Progress can be found in its annual report on the Disability Equality Scheme which will be published on the departmental website shortly.

Departmental Manpower

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1184W, on departmental manpower, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the differences in the percentage of white staff receiving the highest marking in each annual appraisal round as compared to staff from ethnic minorities.

Geoff Hoon: The Department for Transport assesses the distribution of appraisal marks annually. Performance reports are countersigned and then moderated. Line managers receive regular training on the Department's performance management scheme and consequent diversity implications.
	For the 2007-08 performance year, proposed markings for Department for Transport (DfT) (c) were analysed for diversity purposes and where appropriate business units were challenged to ensure that the markings were fair and correct. This pro-active challenge will continue in future years.
	Further analysis is being undertaken, and initial findings suggest that variations from expected distribution is due to a number of factors. The final analysis will be published early in 2009.
	The Department's performance management system is under review and any changes will be subject to an equality impact assessment.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many special advisers were employed in his Department at each pay band on 30 November 2008; and what his Department's total expenditure on special advisers was in 2007-08.

Geoff Hoon: The Government are committed to publishing an annual list detailing the number and costs of special advisers. Information for 2007-08 was published by the Prime Minister on 22 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 99-102WS.

Departmental Official Hospitality

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much has been spent on  (a) departmental Christmas parties and  (b) staff entertainment in the last three years.

Geoff Hoon: It is central departmental policy that official funds are not used on staff Christmas parties.

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to ensure that those temporary and permanent employees at the same grade in his Department who are paid at an hourly rate are paid at the same rate.

Geoff Hoon: The Department for Transport and its agencies does not generally hire permanent employees on an hourly rate. However under delegated pay arrangements it is the responsibility of each individual business unit within the Department to set its rates of pay in accordance with the business needs of the unit.

Departmental Procurement

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proportion of invoices for goods and services procured from small and medium-sized businesses were paid within 10 days of receipt by  (a) his Department and  (b) the agencies for which his Department is responsible in (i) 2006-07 and (ii) 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Geoff Hoon: The payment performance in respect of invoices for goods and services procured from small and medium-sized businesses is not separated from the Department of Transport's overall payment performance and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	In 2006-07 and 2007-08 the Department was required to monitor its payment performance against a target to pay all valid invoices within 30 days of receipt. The Department's performance against this target during the last two complete financial years is shown in the following table:
	
		
			  Valid invoices paid within 30 days of receipt 
			  Percentage 
			   2006-07  2007-08 
			 Central Department 95.5 95.8 
			 DfT agencies 98.8 92.4 
		
	
	Measurement of the number of these invoices that had been paid within 10 days of receipt could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Secondment

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 3 November 2008,  Official Report, column 44W, on DfT Rail: secondment, whether the one person seconded from a train operating company to work in DfT Rail was given  (a) line management responsibility for civil servants,  (b) the right to take disciplinary action against civil servants and  (c) the right to complete annual performance reports on civil servants.

Geoff Hoon: Individuals seconded into the Department for Transport (DfT) are expected to work on the same basis as civil servants. Their duties are agreed with their line manager and, where line management is part of the role, it will include responsibility for discipline and performance management of civil servants. The person seconded from a train operating company to Department for Transport (DfT) Rail was given the normal duties and responsibilities of a civil servant for the period of the secondment.

Driving Standards Agency: Training

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1569W, on the Driving Standards Agency: training, what managerial benefit the five managers in the Driving Standards Agency gained from attending the horse whispering course.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 10 December 2008
	Any courses attended by Driving Standards Agency (DSA) managers are designed to fulfil the objectives of the DSA Leadership and Development programme, by providing a common standard of leadership in DSA and enabling managers to identify their own development needs. The contribution of individual courses to these wider aims is kept under regular review.

Finsbury Ltd.

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  on what dates since 1 January 2007  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials in his Department have had discussions with (i) Finsbury Ltd. and (ii) Roland Rudd;
	(2)  what recent representations he has received from Finsbury Ltd. in connection with the proposal for a third runway at Heathrow since 1 January 2007.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 15 December 2008
	My hon. Friend, the Minister of State for Transport met with a representative of Finsbury Ltd. on 12 and 16 December.
	No representations have been received from them with regards to proposals for a third runway at Heathrow airport.

Senior Civil Servants

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many staff his Department has recruited from outside the Civil Service to senior Civil Service grade posts since 30 July 2007; and of these how many such staff are members of the Nuvos pension scheme.

Geoff Hoon: The Department for Transport has recruited 13 staff from outside the civil service into senior civil service grade posts since 30 July 2007. All became members of the Nuvos pension scheme.

M27: Noise

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment he has made of the level of the level of noise on the M27 between  (a) junctions 11 and 12,  (b) junctions 10 and 11,  (c) junctions 9 and 10 and  (d) junction 9 and the River Hamble; and whether this assessment has changed over the last 10 years.

Paul Clark: Noise levels on all four sections were assessed to establish whether they met the Hansard sift criteria published on 11 November 1999. None met the criteria for further investigation.
	An assessment of the noise levels on the M27 between Junctions 11 and 12 was carried out in 2006 as part of the Environmental Statement for the scheme to construct a climbing lane in each direction between junction 11 (Fareham) and junction 12 (Portsmouth). That assessment concluded overall noise levels would reduce slightly in the opening year as a result of using low noise surfacing.

M5

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps the Highways Agency have taken to clear culverts and drains between junctions 8 and 11A of the M5; what long-term maintenance plans are in place to ensure that they remain free-flowing; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The following work has been carried out by the Highways Agency to clear culverts and drains between Junctions 8-11A of the M5 during the course of the last year:
	All gully outlets between Junctions 8 and 9 and the outfalls of all gullies have been tested between Junctions 9 and 11a, to ensure that water drains away satisfactorily.
	Renewal and replacement of sections of filter material in French drains to allow satisfactory discharge of run-off from carriageways between Junctions 8 and 11.
	Cleaning of central reservation chambers/drainage pipes, over a distance of eight miles.
	Visual inspections of large culverts beneath the M5 between Junctions 8 and 11a. Silt cleaned from culvert at M5 J11a with CCTV surveys of smaller drains to ascertain their condition.
	Removal of root infestation from drainage pipes identified from CCTV survey, over a distance of 0.7 miles.
	Repairs to remove defects to drainage pipes identified by CCTV survey at M5 between Junction 9 and 10.
	Vegetation clearance and re-profiling of ditches, over a distance of 17 miles.
	The information collected has been collated and is now included in an asset inventory. This is being reviewed to identify additional maintenance needs at identified vulnerable sites.
	The maintenance requirements of the culverts and drains are monitored regularly. The Highways Agency will continue with its cyclical maintenance activities including gully cleaning, cutting vegetation in the ditches, keeping outfalls and gullies clear of debris. Additional drainage defect repairs are programmed between Junction 11A and 11, together with filter drain stone replacement, further ditch vegetation clearance and excavation of ditches following winter vegetation clearance.

Motor Vehicles: Crime

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he plans to make vehicle mileage readings taken as part of the MOT test available to organisations involved in tackling vehicle-related crime.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) currently has no plans to make vehicle mileage readings taken as part of the MOT test available to organisations involved in tackling vehicle-related crime.

Northern Rail: Rolling Stock

John Pugh: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many of the additional trains announced in November 2008 are to be allocated to the Northern franchise.

Paul Clark: The vehicles announced in November 2008 are included in the 1,300 additional vehicles announced in the rolling stock plan, published by the Department for Transport on January 2008 and updated in July 2008. The final numbers of additional vehicles will be decided in commercial negotiations with the train operator. Any change from the previously published numbers will be announced when a commercial agreement is concluded.

Public Transport: Disabled

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the number of disabled people unable to  (a) work and  (b) pursue higher education because they are unable to use public transport; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport has made no such estimates. However, the Government are committed to achieving an accessible public transport system, and we have already introduced regulations to ensure trains, buses and coaches are accessible to disabled people.

Railways

Kelvin Hopkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make an assessment of the effect of operating train services in the  (a) public and  (b) private sectors in respect of (i) innovation, (ii) use of new technology, (iii) customer services and (iv) provision of information to customers; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: In 2004 our rail White Paper "The Future of Rail" recognised rail's status as a public service, specified by Government and delivered by the private sector. The £15 billion programme of investment in the network over the next five years, set out in last year's rail White Paper, is focused on concrete improvements in the number of services available, performance and reliability, safety, capacity and ticketing and fares.

Railways: Economic Situation

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment his Department has made of the impact of the economic downturn on rolling stock operating companies; and if he will make a statement.

Paul Clark: This is a business issue for the rolling stock leasing companies and is not for the Department for Transport to determine.

Railways: Freight

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department's capital expenditure on rail freight facilities has been in each year since 1997.

Paul Clark: Since 1997, the Department for Transport, its predecessors and the Strategic Rail Authority (SRA), awarded the following grants for rail freight facilities through the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) programme and Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF).
	
		
			   Grants (£) 
			 1997 1,467,174 
			 1998 2,437,920 
			 1999 9,917,526 
			 2000 24,936,743 
			 2001 20,729,001 
			 2002 11,294,172 
			 2003 3,771,456 
			 2004 0 
			 2005 915,772 
			 2006 493,681 
			 2007 1,160,449 
		
	
	The SRA suspended the FFG programme for most rail projects in 2003, although grants continued to be available for aggregate-based facilities through the ALSF. FFGs were reintroduced for all rail schemes by the Department in 2007.
	In addition to FFGs, the Department has announced over £200 million of investment schemes through the Productivity Transport Innovation Fund, as well as £200 million provided for Network Rail to develop a Strategic Freight Network. The determination of Network Rail's outputs and access charges for 2009-14 also included £275 million for the upgrade of the Great Northern/Great Eastern joint line via Lincoln and Shaftholme junction grade separation. All these projects have particular benefits for freight and, taken together, provide the largest investment package for rail freight in decades.

Railways: Freight

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what funding support his Department has provided for the development of rail freight facilities in  (a) Halton,  (b) Merseyside and  (c) Cheshire in the last 12 months.

Paul Clark: The Department for Transport provides match funding for rail freight facilities through the Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) programme. There have been no applications presented to the Department for an FFG for rail freight facilities in Halton, Merseyside or Cheshire in the past 12 months and as such no funding has been provided.

Railways: Freight

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent estimate he has made of the rail freight carrying capacity of the West Coast Main Line.

Paul Clark: Network Rail has recently commenced work on the West Coast Route Utilisation Strategy. Rail freight capacity and enhancement options will be assessed as part of this workstream.

Renewable Energy: Transport

Dari Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport with reference to the written ministerial statement of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 66-7WS, on the Draft Renewable Transport Fuel Obligations (Amendment) Order 2009, 
	(1)  if he will reverse his plans to reduce the level of the obligation for the 2009-10 obligation period following the discovery of the drafting error in the 2007 Order;
	(2)  if he will provide financial compensation for biofuel producers materially affected by the drafting error in the 2007 Order.

Jim Fitzpatrick: Due to a discrepancy identified in the RTFO Order 2007 (SI 3072) an amount of fossil fuel cannot be considered when calculating how much renewable fuel a supplier is obligated to supply. However, the impact of this problem on the volumes of biofuel used and the extent of any shortfall in the UK will not be known until after the end of this obligation year.
	The Government are currently consulting on the proposed solution to rectify the discrepancy issue for the next obligation year, as part of a consultation on slowing down the rate of increase of obligation levels. The consultation closed on 17 December and we shall take into account responses about the possible effects of the discrepancy on biofuel producers.

Roads: Accidents

Fiona Mactaggart: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many children have been  (a) killed and  (b) seriously injured in road accidents when they were passengers in taxis in each of the last 10 years; and how many of those children in each case were not wearing seat belts or using child restraints.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The numbers of casualties in reported personal injury road accidents for children (0-15 years old) that have been  (a) killed and  (b) seriously injured when they were passengers in taxis in each of the last 10 years in Great Britain are given in the table:
	
		
			  Number of casualties 
			   Killed  Seriously injured 
			 1998 0 4 
			 1999 0 9 
			 2000 0 7 
			 2001 0 4 
			 2002 0 3 
			 2003 0 9 
			 2004 0 2 
			 2005 1 3 
			 2006 0 1 
			 2007 0 7 
		
	
	A taxi is defined as any vehicle operating as a hackney carriage, regardless of construction, and bearing the appropriate district council or local authority hackney carriage plates. The definition also includes private hire cars from year 2005.
	Information on whether seat belts or child restraints were worn in road collisions is not collected.

Rolling Stock: South West

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will make it his policy to ensure that any reduction of South West Trains services west of Exeter will be replaced by equivalent levels of rolling stock through other train operators.

Paul Clark: Discussions are currently taking place with First Great Western regarding services to be operated west of Exeter when South West Trains (SWT) services cease and an announcement will be made in due course.

Severn Bridge: Tolls

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what effect the reduction in the rate of value added tax will have on the level of the Severn Bridges toll in 2009.

Paul Clark: I have approved the Highways Agency's recommendation that the revised toll charges scheduled for 2009 should reflect the reduction in VAT and await the concessionaires' formal agreement to this.

Severn Bridge: Tolls

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects to  (a) make,  (b) lay before Parliament and  (c) bring into force the Severn Bridges Toll Order.

Paul Clark: The Severn Bridges Toll Order 2008 is not required to be laid before Parliament. The Order will be made in December after the Concessionaire has given its formal consent to the reduced annual inflation increase which will reflect the recent reduction in the rate of VAT.
	The Order will come into force on the 1 January 2009 as required by section 9 (2) (b) of the Severn Bridges Act 1992.

Severn Bridge: Tolls

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what payment methods for the Severn Bridges toll are  (a) permitted and  (b) prohibited by the Severn Bridges Act 1992 and associated delegated legislation.

Paul Clark: There are no permissions or prohibitions in the Severn Bridges Act 1992, but the Severn Bridge Regulations 1993 determine the use of cash for payment of the tolls at the Crossing. The only permitted exception is where driver has participated in the concessionaire's pre-payment scheme.

Speed Limits: Cameras

Robert Goodwill: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate he has made of the cost of procurement and installation of  (a) one reactive speed warning sign,  (b) one fixed safety camera and  (c) a system of time over distance speed cameras.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 9 December 2008
	The Department has made the following estimates of vehicle activated signs and fixed speed cameras.
	
		
			  Date of estimate  Measure  Cost (£) 
			 23 April 2007 Vehicle activated sign (1)7,000 
			 23 April 2007 Fixed speed camera 40,000 
			 (1) This excluded provision of an electrical supply (which can be relatively significant in rural locations). 
		
	
	Time over distance cameras cover a length of road, rather than a particular spot as with fixed speed cameras. The cost per kilometre of installing a time over distance camera system depends on a number of variables including the number of junctions present and the road environment. At present only one supplier has a model type approved for enforcement, but type approval is ongoing for a further three systems, including two from new suppliers.
	We do not have any estimate for the average cost of a time over distance camera system.

Tolls: Greater London

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions he has had with the Mayor of London on the implications for London's transport budget of removing the western extension of the congestion charge zone; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: None. Government agreed a generous, long-term funding settlement with Transport for London last year and it is now for them to manage their estate, policies and priorities within that funding envelope.

Vehicle and Operator Services Agency: Redundancy Pay

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reasons the Vehicle and Operator Services Agency (VOSA) offered different types of severance terms to  (a) VOSA directors and  (b) other staff working at VOSA headquarters.

Jim Fitzpatrick: VOSA directors were offered voluntary early severance terms as their grade meant that there were no realistic opportunities for them to find other posts within the Agency. This situation did not apply to other staff.

JUSTICE

Christmas

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been spent on  (a) departmental Christmas parties and  (b) staff entertainment in the last three years.

Maria Eagle: I refer the hon. Member to the answer of 27 October 2008,  Official Report, column 743W, to the hon. Member for Hertford and Stortford (Mr. Prisk) which provides information on the spend on Christmas functions in 2007-08.
	Attendance at and hosting of hospitality events including Christmas parties by departmental staff may be recorded in local hospitality registers, in accordance with Ministry of Justice policy. The data are not collated centrally, and gathering information from local registers (including operational establishments) would be possible only at disproportionate cost.
	The Department does not fund Christmas parties although staff may personally contribute towards the cost of such an event. At any time of year awards may be made through the reward and recognition scheme in line with departmental guidelines for team celebrations including modest parties.
	Spend on entertainment could be provided across the Ministry only at disproportionate cost.
	All expenditure on entertainment should be incurred in accordance with published departmental guidance on financial procedures and propriety that are based on the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Committal Proceedings

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many committal hearings were held in each of the last five years; and what estimate he has made of the cost of committal hearings in each of those years.

Bridget Prentice: Committal hearings in the magistrates courts for the years 2003 to 2007 were: 51,492; 48,656; 47,939; 47,023; and 50,027. Cost data were not collated centrally prior to the creation of Her Majesty's Courts Services on 1 April 2005. Consequently, it is not possible to estimate the costs of committals in 2003 and 2004. The estimated costs of committals for the years 2005 to 2007 are: £5.6 million; £4.6 million; and £5.2 million.

Constitutions: Crown Dependencies

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice whether the Government has any plans for constitutional reform in Crown Dependencies.

Michael Wills: There are no plans for constitutional reform in any of the Crown Dependencies.

Courts: Prison Accommodation

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the cost to his Department of housing prisoners in court cells was in each of the last 24 months.

David Hanson: No court cells are currently in use or have been since February 2008. Court cells were used to accommodate prisoners overnight between January and June 2007, and again in February this year. Invoices to the value of £2.54 million have to date been paid to escort contractors who staffed the cells.
	Invoices are not month-specific and therefore we cannot reply on a month-by-month basis.

Departmental Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what records his Department maintains of its expenditure on  (a) official hospitality and  (b) alcohol for official hospitality.

Shahid Malik: The Department records in its accounting system the total of spending on hospitality.
	There is no departmental requirement to separately monitor expenditure on alcohol for hospitality purposes and therefore no mechanism for this information to be recorded.
	Expenditure on hospitality is made in accordance the Department's internal hospitality policy and is consistent with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
	The policy applies to all staff and specifies that no alcohol is to be provided as part of in-house hospitality (e.g. conferences and away days).

Departmental Public Consultation

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 1669-70W, on departmental public participation, when his Department will publish a response to each of the completed consultations still awaiting response.

Maria Eagle: Further to my answer of 26 November 2008, the following response papers have since been published by my Department: Pandemic Influenza—guidance on the operation of the coroner system; Confidence and Confidentiality: Openness in family courts—a new approach; and Claims Management Regulation—fee levels for 2009-10.
	The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) strives to publish its response papers in a timely fashion and will endeavour to publish the other outstanding response papers as soon as possible. The date of publication depends on a variety of factors, including the complexity of the subject matter, the number of responses received and securing clearance by Cabinet Committee.

Firearms: Sentencing

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many and what percentage of people convicted of carrying an illegal firearm under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 received the mandatory sentence established by the Act in each of the last five years, broken down by age group; and what the average length of sentence of those convicted of carrying an illegal firearm under the Criminal Justice Act 2003 was in each of the last five years.

Jack Straw: The requested information is shown in the following table:
	The Criminal Justice Act 2003 prescribed mandatory minimum custodial sentences for the offences of: Possessing or distributing prohibited firearms or ammunition and Possessing or distributing firearm disguised as other object where the offences were committed on or after the 26 January 2004.
	The minimum sentence it set was three years where the offender was aged between 16 and 18 at the time of the offence and five years for offenders aged over 18 at the time of the offence.
	Data held by the Ministry of Justice cannot determine the date the offence took place or the age of the offender at the time of the offence rather it is the date the sentence was passed and the age of the offender at the time of sentencing that is held.
	Data provided in this answer shows all offenders given the mandatory minimum from 2005-07, while not all offenders sentenced in 2005 would have been eligible for the mandatory minimum it is not possible to separately identify those cases that occurred prior to 26 January 2004.
	Those offenders in the juvenile (10 to 17-years-old) age band are all assumed to be eligible for the three-year mandatory minimum, similarly those in the adult age band (21+) are all assumed to be eligible for the five-year mandatory minimum, those offenders in the young adult age band (18-20) could potentially have been eligible for either minimum sentence so the numbers given between three and five years and over five years have been shown separately.
	
		
			  Persons sentenced for firearms offences liable for mandatory minimum custodial sentence as prescribed by the Criminal Justice Act 2003( 1) , 2003-07 
			   2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			  Juveniles  
			 Total sentenced 69 60 36 17 16 
			 Immediate custody 10 12 9 8 7 
			 Received mandatory minimum(3) (2)n/a (2)n/a 4 5 2 
			 Offenders sentenced receiving mandatory minimum (Percentage) n/a n/a 11.1 29.4 12.5 
			 ACSL(4) 11.2 22.7 26.0 29.8 30.6 
			   
			  Young adults  
			 Total sentenced 121 122 59 46 40 
			 Immediate custody 23 35 34 31 32 
			 Received mandatory minimum—at least three years(5) (2)n/a (2)n/a 7 14 15 
			 Received mandatory minimum—at least five years(5) (2)n/a (2)n/a 18 10 9 
			 Offenders sentenced receiving mandatory minimum (Percentage) n/a n/a 42.4 52.2 60.0 
			 ACSL(4) 18.6 39.5 45.5 43.6 42.1 
			   
			  Adults  
			 Total sentenced 713 564 294 217 208 
			 Immediate custody 183 205 199 173 171 
			 Received mandatory minimum(6) (2)n/a (2)n/a 124 126 132 
			 Offenders sentenced receiving mandatory minimum (Percentage) n/a n/a 42.2 58.1 63.5 
			 ACSL(4) 29.3 35.3 48.6 54.0 56.3 
			 (1 )Offences under Firearms Act 1968 of: Possessing or distributing prohibited weapons or ammunition, or Possessing or distributing firearm disguised as other object.  (2) The mandatory is applicable only for offences that occurred on or after 26 January 2004.  (3) Mandatory minimum for persons aged under 18 at time of offence and for offences taking place after 26 January 2004 is three years.  (4) Average custodial sentence length (months) excludes life and indeterminate sentences.  (5) Mandatory minimum is dependant on age at the time of the offence. Data held by the Ministry of Justice only shows age at time of sentence so offenders in this age group could have been liable for three or five years. Offenders have not been double counted.  (6) Mandatory minimum for persons aged over 18 at time of offence and for offences taking place after 26 January 2004 is five years.   Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.   Source:  OMS Analytical Services, Ministry of Justice.

Freedom of Information

Robert Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many freedom of information cases referred to the Information Commissioner  (a) are under investigation by a caseworker and  (b) are awaiting allocation to a caseworker.

Michael Wills: Relevant figures are only available up to August 2008. In August 2008, 1,234 cases were being dealt with by the Information Commissioner's Office under the Freedom of Information Act. Of these, 640 were being investigated by a complaints officer and 594 were awaiting allocation.
	This information has been provided by the Information Commissioner's Office.

Glen Parva Young Offender Institution

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice when the recent outbreak of sickness caused by a norovirus infection was first detected at HMP Young Offender Institute (YOI) Glen Parva; how many prisoners and staff have been infected since then; how many prisoners required medical treatment outside the YOI; how the infection was introduced into the YOI; when he expects the YOI to be clear of the infection; what effect the infection has had on (i) prison security and (ii) the provision of education and rehabilitation for the prisoners; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: On 6 December, 16 prisoners at HMYOI Glen Parva reported sick with symptoms of sickness and vomiting. The following day this number had risen to 142. The illness was confirmed as being the 'norovirus' on 9 December. By 10 December, the number of prisoners reported to be suffering from this had peaked at 154.
	Those prisoners who displayed symptoms had their movement restricted in order to reduce the risk of the illness spreading. All received medical attention and were cared for appropriately. No prisoner required outside medical treatment.
	Since 6 December, there has been a slight increase in staff sickness across the establishment, however, only a handful of staff have reported to be experiencing similar symptoms to those described. The prison has worked closely with the local Environmental Health and the Health Protection Agencies in an attempt to establish potential causes and to reduce the risk of further infection. It is believed that the infection was introduced in the main prison population by either a member of staff or prisoner working from within the main prison kitchen.
	In the initial stages some changes to the prison regime were necessary, however, as the outbreak occurred over a weekend period when the establishment operates a restricted regime, only prisoner association periods were affected. This was minimal and the prison was operating business as usual from 9 December. There has been no impact on prison security.
	Every precaution is being taken to reduce the spread of the illness.
	There are still some prisoners who are displaying similar symptoms, however, the virus outbreak is now over.

Gloucester Prison

Parmjit Dhanda: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the reasons were for the decision to downgrade Gloucester prison; if he will communicate those reasons directly to the prison's authorities; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: Prison ratings are determined using a range of performance data which can then be reviewed and moderated to take into account further evidence. The data for Gloucester indicated some concerns in their performance on providing purposeful activity and releasing prisoners on temporary licence. For these reasons the rating of 3 was reached. Explanations for ratings will be communicated to establishments and I understand NOMS Agency is in the process of doing this.

Human Trafficking: Refuges

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  how many beds are available for victims of trafficking at the Poppy Project; and how many new beds have been provided in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many victims of trafficking have been refused a place at the Poppy Project due to a lack of available beds in each of the last five years;
	(3)  what the occupancy levels were of the Poppy Project in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: The Government have funded the Poppy project to provide specialist, high-level support to victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation since 2003. During the piloting of the project between 2003 and 2005, the service provided 25 supported accommodation places on a rolling basis. Funding was increased in 2006 to provide 25 acute places, 10 resettlement places and an outreach service. In 2007 and 2008 the project was provided with an additional small flexible budget to help with capacity building so victims can be temporarily accommodated in other refuges where necessary.
	The Poppy project has supported 401 women since it opened in 2003; 210 received supported accommodation and 191 received outreach support. A breakdown on occupancy levels by year is not available. Data on the number of victims that have not been able to access the Poppy project due it reaching capacity in the last five years are not available.
	We are currently tendering for a national support service model for victims of human trafficking, which will include an increased number of accommodation places from spring 2009.

Legal Services Commission

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice if he will instruct the Legal Services Commission to reply to the letter dated 22 October 2008 from the Rossendale Citizens' Advice Bureau; and if he will make a statement.

Shahid Malik: As a result of an administrative oversight, the reply to the letter from Rossendale Citizens Advice Bureau was unfortunately delayed by the Legal Services Commission. A response to the letter will be sent out shortly.

Life Imprisonment: Prisoners Release

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment since 1997 have been released from custody.

David Hanson: As of 15 December 2008, 304 prisoners who were given a mandatory, discretionary or automatic sentence of life imprisonment or a sentence to be served at Her Majesty's Pleasure on or after 1 January 1997 have been released from custody. No life sentence prisoner can be released until they have served the appropriate punitive period of imprisonment (the tariff period). The sentence planning and parole processes help ensure that such prisoners will only be released if the Parole Board is satisfied that it is safe to do so.
	This figure comes from the NOMS Public Protection Unit Database. As with any large scale recording system, it is subject to possible errors arising from either data entry or processing.
	It is for the independent Parole Board to determine whether the risk presented by an offender sentenced to life imprisonment is such that it might be safely managed in the community.

Mentally Ill

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what response his Department has made to those recommendations of the Foresight report into Mental Capital and Wellbeing which relate to his Department's responsibilities; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: The Ministry of Justice was consulted in the preparation of the Foresight Report, "Mental Capital and Wellbeing" and welcomes its publication. The Ministry has a strong interest in the report's implications for dealing with offenders with mental health problems, and will work closely with the Department of Health and other Government Departments to ensure that the report is taken into consideration in developing relevant policies and services, including early interventions.

Offenders

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many former prisoners are employed by his Department; and what his Department's policy is on employing former prisoners.

David Hanson: In the Ministry of Justice, figures are not held for former prisoners now employed by the Ministry of Justice. The policy on employment of ex-offenders recognises the important role that access to employment opportunities can have in the rehabilitation process for ex-offenders and in reducing re-offending. The Ministry will consider ex-offenders on their individual merits. Having a criminal record will not necessarily bar an individual working for the Ministry. This will depend on several considerations including:
	The nature and seriousness of the offence
	The relevance of the conviction i.e. the possibility of impetuosity of youth or immaturity and consideration that the individual's circumstances or character may have altered since to the extent that the conviction will not now be significant
	The nature of the work and location

Offensive Weapons: Hertfordshire

Michael Penning: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people under 18 years have been convicted of offences related to the carrying of a knife in each year in  (a) Hemel Hempstead and  (b) Hertfordshire since 1997; and what range of penalties were imposed.

Maria Eagle: Data showing the number of people under 18 years of age found guilty of "Having an article with a blade or point in a public place" and "Having an article with a blade or point on school premises" in Hertfordshire police force area, and the type of sentence given for each year since 1997 are in the following table. Information on court proceedings are centrally collected only for each police force area, therefore data for Hemel Hempstead cannot be supplied.
	
		
			  Number of people under 18 years of age found guilty at all courts, with the type of sentence given, for "having an article with blade or point in a public place or on school premises"( 1) , in the Hertfordshire police force area, 1997 to 2007( 2, 3) 
			Sentence given 
			   Found guilty  Conditional discharge  Fine  Community sentence  Immediate custody 
			 1997 7 3 2 2 — 
			 1998 5 2 — 3 — 
			 1999 3 — 1 2 — 
			 2000 3 — 2 1 — 
			 2001 2 — 1 1 — 
			 2002 4 2 — 2 — 
			 2003 15 — — 15 — 
			 2004 20 3 — 17 — 
			 2005 21 2 2 15 2 
			 2006 19 2 1 16 — 
			 2007 18 — 1 17 — 
			 (1 )Includes the following offences and statutes;  Having an article with blade or point in public place. (Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139 as amended by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.3).  Having an article with blade or point on school premises. (Criminal Justice Act 1988 S.139A (1)(5)(a) as added by Offensive Weapons Act 1996 S.4(1)). (2 )The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3 )Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Offensive Weapons: Sentencing

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people  (a) were sentenced following conviction for the offence of possession of a knife in a public place in each of the last 10 years and  (b) began to serve custodial sentences immediately, broken down by length of sentence.

Jack Straw: The available information is contained in the following table.
	Data held by the Ministry of Justice show the number of offenders sentenced to an immediate custodial sentence. It is not possible to determine how many of those offenders began serving those sentences immediately as some may have been released having served their sentence on remand.
	
		
			  Total number of persons sentenced( 1)  and number given immediate custody for possession of a knife in a public place and length of sentences, 1997 to 2007 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  2007 
			 Total sentenced 3,341 3,788 3,548 3,518 4,303 5,269 5,311 5,802 5,957 6,284 6,121 
			 
			 Total immediate custody 372 550 534 499 589 766 755 803 965 1070 1060 
			 Up to 3 months 302 429 410 357 418 542 525 543 602 601 621 
			 Over 3 months up to 6 months 59 99 109 130 156 187 192 225 304 398 349 
			 Over 6 months up to 1 year 1 11 8 5 9 23 20 26 33 45 38 
			 1 year exactly 4 7 3 6 1 6 10 4 16 15 33 
			 Over 1 year up to 18 months 6 2 4 1 4 7 5 5 9 8 12 
			 Over 18 months up to 3 years — 2 — — 1 1 3 — 1 3 7 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis  Note: These figures have been taken from administrative IT systems, which, as with any large scale recording system are subject to possible errors with data entry and processing.

Personal Injury: Consultation

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Wantage (Mr. Vaizey) of 22 May 2008,  Official Report, column 413W, on personal injury: compensation, when he plans to publish his Department's response to the consultation; and if he will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: We aimed to publish a summary of responses to the consultation paper on the law of damages together with the Government's response to the consultation before the summer recess. Regrettably, we have not as yet been in a position to publish the response; however, we intend to do so as soon as possible.

Political Parties and Elections Bill

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice with reference to the statement of the Minister of State of 20 October 2008,  Official Report, column 120, on the Political Parties and Elections Bill, whether his Department holds a copy of the letter from the affiliated trades unions.

Michael Wills: The letter referred to in the statement was addressed by the then chair of TULO (Trade Union and Labour Party Liaison Organisation) to the General Secretary of the Labour party. The letter is therefore held by the Labour party, although Ministers and special advisers in the Ministry of Justice have seen the letter. The Ministry of Justice does not itself hold a copy of the letter.

Prison Service: Finance

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the  (a) payee,  (b) reason for each payment and  (c) amount paid to each payee was out of the total of £14,564,000 of special payments by the Prison Service referred to in the Prison Service Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08.

Shahid Malik: To provide the full listing requested would require a review of all the individual cases, which could be carried out only at a disproportionate cost. However information on special payments cases is kept at a summary level and this is shown in the following table.
	
		
			  Description  Number of  cases paid  Value of cases  paid (£) 
			  Prisoner   
			 Extended detention 102 239,607 
			 Damaged property 270 14.236 
			 Death in custody 11 108.815 
			 Injury 255 2,176.941 
			 Lost property 2,103 120.397 
			 Other(1) 210 662.421 
			  2,951 3,322,417 
			
			  Staff   
			 Damaged property 158 10,486 
			 Injury 802 8,021,630 
			 Hostage 3 315,738 
			 Lost property 39 13,843 
			 Other(1) 180 1,036,776 
			 Tribunals 80 1,206,485 
			  1,262 10,604,958 
			
			  Third parties   
			 Damaged property 17 17,671 
			 Death in custody 8 258,670 
			 Injury 46 294,494 
			 Lost property 28 8.678 
			 Other 47 34,075 
			 Tribunals 2 22,710 
			  148 636,297 
			
			  4,361 14,563,672 
			 (1) The 'Other' cases accounting for £1.7 million in 2007-08 have very varied descriptions and do not sit easily under any one particular category, for example these include: Prisoners—disputes over categorisation and, breach of Human Rights cases; Staff—bank charges following non-payment of salary, termination of employment; and compensation for adverse job references; Third parties—'Agency' staff dismissal, cancellation of family or solicitor visits and disputes over length of use of hire equipment.

Prison Service: Finance

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many invoices were paid late by the Prison Service incurring interest charges amounting to the £198,000 referred to in the Prison Service's Annual Report and Accounts 2007-08; and  (a) how much each invoice was for and  (b) what the reason for the late payment was in each case.

David Hanson: During the period 2007-08, the Prison Service encountered a number of system failures in the processing of invoices. This resulted in peak of 58,000 remaining unpaid. Of the £198,000 paid during 2007-08, £177,000 relates to three suppliers, two of which are food suppliers. The main three are:
	£117,011 for NH Case Ltd.: for the period November 2002 to March 2008 and in the main relate to invoices held due to price variations between the price at purchase and the price at the time of supply or failure to register the goods received in a timely manner;
	£52,150 DBC Food Ltd.: not specifically an invoice but a late payment interest settlement figure calculated as part of a contract settlement amount when ending a contract with the Prison Service; and
	£8,365 EDF Energy Ltd.: an amount agreed between the Prison Service and the supplier to cover late payments made by a number of prisons.
	The remainder is made up of various other small amounts which are unable to be detailed in the time available to answer this question.
	To alleviate some of the issues being experienced with supplier payments, an emergency team was formed that worked to clear all invoices in back log. The Prison Service now has invoices taking on average two days to process from receipt. A new procurement strategy will be rolled out in April 2009 which should result in an improved buying power and supplier relationship.

Prison Service: Reorganisation

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what progress he has made in his discussions on the Prison Service workforce modernisation proposals with the Prison Officers' Association; when he expects those negotiations to conclude; and if he will make a statement.

David Hanson: We remain in constructive negotiations with the Prison Officers' Association and aim to conclude the formal negotiation this year.

Prison Service: Reorganisation

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what responses he has received to the Prison Service work force modernisation proposals from  (a) the Prison Officers Association,  (b) the Prison Governors Association,  (c) the Prison Service Trade Union Side,  (d) the Prison Service Joint Industrial Council,  (e) The Royal College of Nursing and  (f) other trade unions and staff associations recognised by the Prison Service.

David Hanson: The National Offender Management Service is in continuing negotiations on work force modernisation with all trade unions and the Staff Association affected by the proposals.

Prisoners: Compensation

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many prisoners have  (a) instigated legal proceedings and  (b) received compensation from (i) his Department and (ii) its agencies under the Human Rights Act 1998; and what rights were concerned in each case in which legal proceedings have been completed.

David Hanson: To provide the information requested would entail significant disproportionate cost requiring detailed examination of a very large number of files.

Prisoners: Rehabilitation

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice which  (a) prisons and  (b) young offender institutions (YOIs) had courses to help prisoners with (i) alcohol and (ii) drug misuse in each year from 1997 to 2007; how many currently have such courses available; and how many people are attending such courses in each (A) prison and (B) YOI.

David Hanson: The provision of drug and alcohol interventions in prisons has grown rapidly over the last 10 years. It is not possible accurately to record which establishment offered each type of drug or alcohol intervention year on year over time period requested.
	NOMS has in place a comprehensive drug treatment framework, based on the National Treatment Agency's revised Models of Care, to address the different needs of drug-misusers in prison. The interventions available are designed to meet the needs of low, moderate and severe drug misusers—irrespective of age, gender or ethnicity.
	The interventions are comprised of:
	Clinical Services (detoxification and/or maintenance prescribing)—all prisoners have access to a range of clinical services.
	CARATs (Counselling, Assessment, Referral, Advice and Throughcare service)—specialist support and advice services that,
	following assessment, deliver psychosocial interventions, treatment and support. All adult prisons offer CARAT services.
	Drug Rehabilitation Programmes—There are 114 drug rehabilitation programmes running in 99 establishments (see Table 1).
	The number of prisoners engaged in drug treatment is in Table 2..
	A range of interventions are available in prisons to support those with an alcohol problem:
	clinical services—alcohol detoxification is available in all local and remand prisons;
	where alcohol is part of a wider substance misuse problem, the full range of drug interventions are available;
	a number of prisons run alcohol awareness courses;
	Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) run groups in around 67 per cent. of prisons;
	some offending behaviour programmes address the underlying factors which occur in alcohol related crime;
	an accredited 12-step alcohol programme is being run at HMP Bullingdon;
	a further four more intensive interventions Cognitive Behavioural Alcohol Programmes are being piloted at HMP Hull, Forest Bank, Glen Parva and Chelmsford;
	for those prisons(ers) involved in the roll-out of the Integrated Drug Treatment System (IDTS) a 90 minute alcohol awareness session has been developed; and
	the young persons substance misuse service for 15-17 year old prisoners has a particular focus on alcohol.
	The National Offender Management Service (NOMS) does not collate figures centrally on the number of prisoners accessing services specifically aimed at their alcohol misuse.
	
		
			  Table 1: Establishments delivering drug treatment programmes 
			  Establishment  Drug Treatment Programmes Delivered 
			 Acklington STOP 
			 Altcourse SDP AND STOP 
			 Ashwell PASRO 
			 Aylesbury PASRO 
			 Bedford SDP 
			 Belmarsh SDP 
			 Birmingham SDP 
			 Blakenhurst SDP 
			 Blundeston PASRO 
			 Bristol SDP 
			 Brixton PASRO AND SDP 
			 Bullingdon 12 STEP; SDP 
			 Camp Hill PASRO 
			 Cardiff PASRO 
			 Castington SDP 
			 Channings Wood TC 
			 Chelmsford PASRO 
			 Coldingley 12 step 
			 Cookham Wood PASRO 
			 Dartmoor PASRO AND 12 Step 
			 Deerbolt PASRO 
			 Doncaster SDP 
			 Dorchester SDP 
			 Downview SDP 
			 Drake Hall TC 
			 Durham PASRO 
			 Eastwood Park SDR 
			 Edmunds Hill PASRO 
			 Elmley PASRO AND SDP 
			 Erlestoke 12 step 
			 Everthorpe PASRO AND 12 Step 
			 Exeter SDP 
			 Featherstone PASRO 
			 Ford SDP 
			 Forest Bank SDP 
			 Frankland FOCUS 
			 Full Sutton FOCUS 
			 Garth TC 
			 Gartree STOP 
			 Glen Parva PASRO AND SDP 
			 Gloucester SDP 
			 Guys Marsh PASRO 
			 Haverigg PASRO 
			 High Down SDP 
			 Highpoint AOD; PASRO AND STOP 
			 Hindley PASRO 
			 Hollesley Bay SDP 
			 Holloway SDP 
			 Holme House TC AND SDP 
			 Hull SDP 
			 Kingston PASRO 
			 Kirkham PASRO 
			 Lancaster PASRO AND 12 Step 
			 Lancaster Farms SDP 
			 Leeds SDP 
			 Leicester SDP 
			 Lewes PASRO 
			 Leyhill SDP 
			 Lincoln PASRO 
			 Lindholme PASRO 
			 Littlehey 12 step 
			 Liverpool PASRO 
			 Long Lartin FOCUS 
			 Low Newton PASRO 
			 Maidstone PASRO 
			 Manchester SDP 
			 Moorland PASRO 
			 Mount 12 step 
			 New Hall SDP 
			 North Sea Camp SDP 
			 Northallerton SDP 
			 Norwich 12 step 
			 Nottingham SDP 
			 Onley PASRO 
			 Pare PASRO 
			 Pentonville PASRO AND SDP 
			 Peterborough Male SDP 
			 Portland PASRO 
			 Preston SDP 
			 Ranby PASRO 
			 Reading SDP 
			 Risley PASRO 
			 Rochester PASRO 
			 Send 12 step 
			 Stafford PASRO 
			 Stocken STOP 
			 Stoke Heath SDP AND PASRO 
			 Styal SDP 
			 Swaleside 12 step 
			 Swansea 12 step AND SDP 
			 Swinfen Hall PASRO 
			 Thorn Cross SDP 
			 Verne 12 step 
			 Wakefield FOCUS 
			 Wayland PASRO 
			 Wellingborough PASRO 
			 Whitemoor FOCUS 
			 Winchester PASRO AND SDP 
			 Wormwood Scrubs PASRO AND SDP 
			 Wymott TC 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Drug Interventions 2007-081 
			  Establishment  Clinical interventions (detox or maintenance)  CARATs (substance misuse triage assessments)  Drug treatment programme starts 
			 Acklington 0 125 24 
			 Albany 0 20 0 
			 Altcourse 861 1,488 336 
			 Ashfield(2) 55 0 0 
			 Ashwell 0 240 84 
			 Askham Grange 0 36 0 
			 Aylesbury(2) 10 73 60 
			 Bedford 594 1,012 240 
			 Belmarsh 866 1,268 60 
			 Birmingham 4,529 2,676 120 
			 Blakenhurst 1,916 1,762 251 
			 Blantyre House 0 0 0 
			 Blundeston 0 262 84 
			 Brinsford(2) 364 757 0 
			 Bristol 1,370 1,060 120 
			 Brixton 1,877 1,616 336 
			 Brockhill 0 24 0 
			 Bronzefield 1,168 1127 0 
			 Buckley Hall 0 80 0 
			 Bullingdon 958 1,234 425 
			 Bullwood Hall 0 103 0 
			 Camp Hill 0 73 96 
			 Canterbury 0 100 0 
			 Cardiff 841 834 96 
			 Castington(2) 50 470 100 
			 Channings Wood 0 52 56 
			 Chelmsford 745 1,140 96 
			 Coldingley 5 76 100 
			 Cookham Wood 2 26 14 
			 Dartmoor 0 114 117 
			 Deerbolt(2) 0 359 80 
			 Doncaster 1,727 2,190 240 
			 Dorchester 574 669 120 
			 Dovegate 0 143 0 
			 Dover 0 0 0 
			 Downview 0 38 31 
			 Drake Hall 0 67 40 
			 Durham 2,142 839 96 
			 East Sutton Park 0 29 0 
			 Eastwood Park 1,504 988 60 
			 Edmunds Hill 0 162 60 
			 Elmley 1,251 1,074 216 
			 Erlestoke 0 81 60 
			 Everthorpe 0 219 171 
			 Exeter 877 767 240 
			 Featherstone 0 204 96 
			 Feltham(2) 258 1,015 0 
			 Ford 0 206 111 
			 Forest Bank 914 1,280 240 
			 Foston Hall 896 433 0 
			 Frankland 0 51 19 
			 Full Sutton 0 50 19 
			 Garth 0 66 46 
			 Gartree 0 81 31 
			 GlenParva(2) 457 1,001 210 
			 Gloucester 926 676 108 
			 Grendon 0 66 0 
			 Guys Marsh 0 155 96 
			 Haslar 0 0 0 
			 Hatfield 0 0 0 
			 Haverigg 0 84 96 
			 Hewell 0 0 0 
			 Hewell Grange 0 12 0 
			 High Down 1,192 1,410 78 
			 Highpoint 0 333 118 
			 Hindley(2) 0 191 70 
			 Hollesley Bay 0 71 131 
			 Holloway 1,131 1,282 120 
			 Holme House 1,622 1,080 156 
			 Hull 1,271 1,561 108 
			 Huntercombe (Juvenile)(2) 0 0 0 
			 Kennet 0 49 0 
			 Kingston 0 10 24 
			 Kirkham 0 137 96 
			 Kirklevington 0 75 0 
			 Lancaster 0 33 76 
			 Lancaster Farms(2) 0 496 100 
			 Latchmere House 0 53 0 
			 Leeds 3,562 1815 120 
			 Leicester 943 970 120 
			 Lewes 709 750 96 
			 Leyhill 0 163 60 
			 Lincoln 1,540 934 73 
			 Lindholme 0 142 144 
			 Littlehey 0 161 59 
			 Liverpool 1,520 1,702 96 
			 Long Lartin 0 40 17 
			 Low Newton 355 321 60 
			 Lowdham Grange 216 38 0 
			 Maidstone 0 112 96 
			 Manchester 1,352 1,506 60 
			 Moorland 0 208 78 
			 Morton Hall 0 60 0 
			 Mount 0 236 101 
			 New Hall 1,749 913 120 
			 North Sea Camp 0 160 111 
			 Northallerton(2) 0 202 100 
			 Norwich 732 750 78 
			 Nottingham 1,102 972 120 
			 Onley 0 398 90 
			 Pare 364 386 96 
			 Parkhurst 81 39 0 
			 Pentonville 1,766 1,620 216 
			 Peterborough 0 966 59 
			 Portland(2) 0 206 80 
			 Preston 1,280 1,328 240 
			 Ranby 0 459 96 
			 Reading(2) 96 419 100 
			 Risley 0 144 96 
			 Rochester(2) 0 156 80 
			 Rye Hill 0 57 0 
			 Send 0 44 60 
			 Shepton Mallet 0 18 0 
			 Shrewsbury 835 755 0 
			 Stafford 95 93 95 
			 Standford Hill 13 136 0 
			 Stocken 0 110 72 
			 Stoke Heath(2) 50 427 90 
			 Styal 1,129 988 240 
			 Sudbury 1 111 0 
			 Swaleside 63 96 100 
			 Swansea 806 530 124 
			 Swinfen Hall(2) 0 152 80 
			 Thorn Cross(2) 0 112 88 
			 Usk\Prescoed 0 301 0 
			 Verne 0 42 0 
			 Wakefield 0 38 18 
			 Wandsworth 2,100 1,701 179 
			 Warren Hill (Juvenile)(2) 0 0 0 
			 Wayland 0 191 96 
			 Wealstun 0 197 120 
			 Weare 0 0 0 
			 Wellingborough 0 147 88 
			 Werrington (Juvenile)(2) 0 0 0 
			 Wetherby (Juvenile)(2) 31 0 0 
			 Whatton 0 24 0 
			 Whitemoor 0 53 20 
			 Winchester 618 1151 192 
			 Wolds 0 16 0 
			 Woodhill 1231 812 0 
			 Wormwood Scrubs 1,517 1,536 336 
			 Wymott 0 75 81 
			 Total 58,809 65,823 11,256 
			 (1 )Alcohol treatment and rehabilitation services for those with an alcohol dependency in prisons are in the main provided within the wider drug treatment framework. The proportion of prisoners accessing treatment services for alcohol is not disaggregated. (2) Indicates establishments noted as a main function of Young Offender Institution during 2007-08. 
		
	
	These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system.

Prosecutions: Retail Trade

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people have been  (a) charged with and  (b) convicted of selling tobacco to those under 18 years since the age of sale was raised to 18 years.

Maria Eagle: 13 people have been proceeded against at magistrates courts and 11 people have been found guilty at all courts of selling tobacco to a person aged under 18 in England and Wales, from 1 October 2007 to 31 December 2007 (the latest available). The age of sale was raised from 16 to 18 on 1 October 2007. Charging data are not collected centrally by my Department.
	The statistics relate to people for whom these offences were the principal offences. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.

Queen Elizabeth II: Anniversaries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what plans his Department has to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Jack Straw: The Ministry of Justice has not, at this stage, developed plans on how to mark the diamond jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen in 2012.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in discussions with the royal household about how to mark the diamond jubilee.

Road Traffic Offences

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the 10 most common  (a) offences and  (b) motoring offences were for which (i) men and (ii) women of each age group were (A) prosecuted, (B) convicted, (C) fined and (D) sent to prison in (1) Essex and (2) England and Wales in the most recent 12 month period.

Maria Eagle: Data showing the number of defendants proceeded against for the 10 most common offences in England and Wales and Essex for 2007, broken down by result, sex and age group are shown in tables A1 and A2 as follows.
	Available information on motoring offences for 2007 (latest available) is provided in tables B1 and B2. The data are based on the 10 most common offences proceeded against. Some of these cover more than one offence where the data reported centrally do not identify them separately.
	
		
			  Table A1: The 10 most common offences p roceeded against at magistrates  courts by result at all courts, sex and age-group for Essex police force area, 2007( 1, 2) 
			  Number of persons 
			  Males 
			 All persons  Aged 10-17  Aged 18 and over 
			   No  Offence description  Total proceedings  Total proceedings  Total findings  of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody 
			 17000 1 Motor vehicle licences; failure to pay appropriate duty. 4,355 — — — — 3,468 3,126 3,080 — 
			 
			 19101 2 Television licence evasion. 3,029 — — — — 1,047 874 871 — 
			 
			 16901 3 Offences in relation to railways 2,591 22 12 10 — 2,056 1,725 1,719 1 
			 
			 10501 4 Common assault and battery. 2,397 401 337 4 8 1,625 1,117 68 233 
			 
			 4600 5 Stealing from shops and stalls. 2,024 217 207 18 3 1,259 1,194 254 344 
			 
			 14900 6 Criminal damage, value £5,000 or less. 1,353 368 310 3 — 835 709 172 43 
			 
			 8301 7 Failing to surrender to bail 1,152 67 31 3 — 925 420 208 69 
			 
			 12512 8 Harassment, alarm and distress. 815 121 83 20 — 564 507 345 — 
			 
			 806 9 Assaults occasioning actual bodily harm. 569 97 60 1 12 403 229 3 83 
			 
			 11606 10 Contravening the law relating to the regulation and control of fishing for salmon, trout, freshwater fish and eels etc. 534 1 — — — 525 506 497 — 
			 
			   Total 18,819 1,294 1,040 59 23 12,707 10,407 7,217 773 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of persons 
			 Females 
			 Aged 10-17  Aged 18 and over 
			   No  Offence description  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody 
			 17000 1 Motor vehicle licences; failure to pay appropriate duty. — — — — 887 805 794 — 
			
			 19101 2 Television licence evasion. — — — — 1,982 1,742 1,741 — 
			
			 16901 3 Offences in relation to railways 6 4 3 — 507 418 415 — 
			
			 10501 4 Common assault and battery. 105 89 — 2 266 169 8 13 
			
			 4600 5 Stealing from shops and stalls. 107 98 1 1 441 414 73 84 
			
			 14900 6 Criminal damage, value £5,000 or less. 43 32 2 — 107 79 16 1 
			
			 8301 7 Failing to surrender to bail 18 9 — — 142 46 19 4 
			
			 12512 8 Harassment, alarm and distress. 47 37 — — 83 65 35 — 
			
			 806 9 Assaults occasioning actual bodily harm. 14 9 1 1 55 23 — 2 
			
			 11606 10 Contravening the law relating to the regulation and control of fishing for salmon, trout, freshwater fish and eels etc. — — — — 8 8 8 — 
			
			   Total 340 278 7 4 4,478 3,769 3,109 104 
			 (1) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table A2: The 10 most common offences proceeded against at magistrates courts, by result at all courts, sex and age-group for England and Wales, 2007( 1, 2, 3) 
			  Number of persons 
			  Males 
			 All persons  Aged 10-17  Aged 18 and over 
			  No Offence description  Total proceedings  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody  Total proceedings  Total findings  of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody 
			 19101 1 Television licence evasion. 135,508 10 6 6 0 46,427 40,033 39,715 0 
			 
			 17000 2 Motor vehicle licences; failure to pay appropriate duty. 86,753 60 24 24 0 69,882 61,414 60,611 1 
			 
			 10501 3 Common assault and battery. 75,871 10,055 7,899 88 279 54,554 36,305 4,028 5,363 
			 
			 4600 4 Stealing from shops and stalls. 67,641 6,186 5,676 361 142 44,745 41,567 7,514 9,103 
			 
			 16901 5 Offences in relation to railways. 42,588 368 250 157 0 34,078 28,896 28,476 12 
			 
			 8301 6 Failing to surrender to bail. 41,341 2,959 1,327 261 17 32,338 18,171 8,467 2,174 
			 
			 14900 7 Criminal damage, value £5,000 or less. 39,416 9,998 8,049 247 9 25,632 21,083 5,093 1,039 
			 
			 12512 8 Harassment, alarm and distress. 27,683 4,638 3,344 651 0 19,346 15,407 9,176 10 
			 
			 17313 9 Any other offences peculiar to stage carriages and public service vehicles not classified elsewhere(1) 27,250 24 9 7 0 17,032 14,454 14,224 0 
			 
			 806 10 Assaults occasioning actual bodily harm. 23,811 3,634 2,667 15 366 17,180 11,733 413 3,600 
			 
			   Total 567,862 37,932 29,251 1,817 813 361,214 289,063 177,717 21,302 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of persons 
			 Females 
			 Aged 10-17  Aged 18 and over 
			   No  Offence description  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody 
			 19101 1 Television licence evasion. 43 33 33 0 89,028 80,802 80,286 0 
			
			 17000 2 Motor vehicle licences; failure to pay appropriate duty. 4 2 2 0 16,807 14,626 14,409 0 
			
			 10501 3 Common assault and battery. 3,643 2,852 15 62 7,619 5,095 430 344 
			
			 4600 4 Stealing from shops and stalls. 2,712 2,447 89 36 13,998 12,873 1,866 1,985 
			
			 16901 5 Offences in relation to railways. 59 40 22 0 8,083 6,681 6,580 1 
			
			 8301 6 Failing to surrender to bail. 580 281 35 3 5,464 2,734 1,083 251 
			
			 14900 7 Criminal damage, value £5,000 or less. 1,373 1,109 21 1 2,413 1,860 273 61 
			
			 12512 8 Harassment, alarm and distress. 1,103 795 90 0 2,596 1,979 915 0 
			
			 17313 9 Any other offences peculiar to stage carriages and public service vehicles not classified elsewhere(1) 20 12 12 0 10,174 8,129 7,929 0 
			
			 806 10 Assaults occasioning actual bodily harm. 966 718 2 61 2,031 1,282 28 178 
			
			   Total 10,503 8,289 321 163 158,213 136,061 113,799 2,820 
			 (1) Includes offences under the Road Transport (International Passenger Services) Regulations 1984, sections 12, 24(2), 24(3), 25, 60, 66(a-e) of the Public Passenger Vehicles Act 1981, the Public Service Vehicles (Condition of fitness, equipment, use and certification) Regulations 1981 and the Public Service Vehicles (Lost property) Regulations 1978. (2) The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe. (3) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B1: 10 most common motoring offences proceeded against at the magistrates' courts by result at all courts, sex and age-group for Essex police force area, 2007 
			  Number of persons 
			 Males 
			Persons  Aged 10-17  Aged 18 and over 
			  No  Offence description  Total proceedings  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody 
			 1 Speed limit offences 8,568 32 27 21 — 6,709 5,721 5,649 — 
			
			 2 Using motor vehicles uninsured against third party risks 6,797 293 248 111 — 5,713 4,846 3,696 — 
			
			 3 Motor vehicle licence - failing to pay appropriate duty 4,631 3 2 — — 3,689 3,310 3,246 — 
			
			 4 Driving, or causing or permitting another person to drive other than in accordance with licence 3,816 268 222 32 — 3,055 2,552 1,200 — 
			
			 5 Other vehicle registration offences (excluding fraud and forgery)(1) 2,193 17 9 7 — 1,774 1,287 1,263 — 
			
			 6 Driving with alcohol in the blood above the prescribed limit 2,189 34 33 3 1 1,849 1,783 1,218 111 
			
			 7 Other miscellaneous motoring offences(3) 1,620 7 5 4 — 1,298 871 807 — 
			
			 8 Other offences of neglect of traffic directions(2) 1,491 30 22 4 — 1,069 973 901 — 
			
			 9 Careless driving - without due care and attention or reasonable consideration for others 1,404 71 60 40 — 1,100 928 801 — 
			
			 10 Vehicle test offences 951 30 19 3 — 808 603 243 — 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			Females 
			Aged 10-17  Aged 18 and  over 
			 No Offence description  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody 
			 1 Speed limit offences — — — — 1,827 1,583 1,577 — 
			   
			 2 Using motor vehicles uninsured against third party risks 13 10 3 — 778 654 550 — 
			   
			 3 Motor vehicle licence - failing to pay appropriate duty — — — — 939 853 839 — 
			   
			 4 Driving, or causing or permitting another person to drive other than in accordance with licence 10 8 1 — 483 384 199 — 
			   
			 5 Other vehicle registration offences (excluding fraud and forgery)(1) — — — — 402 273 267 — 
			   
			 6 Driving with alcohol in the blood above the prescribed limit 3 3 — — 303 298 210 8 
			 7 Other miscellaneous motoring offences(3) — — — — 315 222 210 — 
			   
			 8 Other offences of neglect of traffic directions(2) 1 1 — — 391 365 359 — 
			   
			 9 Careless driving - without due care and attention or reasonable consideration for others 2 1 — — 231 199 188 — 
			   
			 10 Vehicle test offences — — — — 113 80 43 — 
			 — = Nil. (1) Includes offences under SS34, 35, 37, 42, 43 46 & 59 of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994; S28A, S43C and S46A of the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 as added by the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005; Road Vehicles (Registration and Licensing) Regulations 2002; and Reg 35 of the End-of-Life Vehicles Regulations 2003. (2) Includes offences under SS35(1) & (2), 36(1) & 163(3) of the Road Traffic Act 1988; S28(3) Road Traffic Regulations Act 1984; and S6 Traffic Management Act 2004. (3) Includes offences under SS 13(1), 17(2), 18(4), 34(1), 71(1), 75(5), 76(1), 76(3), 83, 123(4), 135, 177 & Sch 1(6) of the Road Traffic Act 1988; SS 3(1)(a) & (b) of the Road Traffic (Foreign Vehicles) Act 1972; SS 35A(2),47(1), 47(3), 104, 112(4), 117 & Sch 12 Para 3(5) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1994; Regs 3, 9, 22, 33, 83, 86 & 89 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986; Regs 7, 8, 23 27 & 28 of the End-of-Life Vehicle Regulations 2003; and S4BD of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970.  Notes: 1. A person appearing in court can be dealt with for more than one offence at that appearance. The table shows the number of offences dealt with and not the number of persons appearing in court. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table B2: 10 most common motoring offences proceeded against at the magistrates courts by result at all courts, sex and age-group for England and Wales police force area, 2007 
			  Number of persons 
			 Males 
			Persons  Aged 10-17  Aged 18 and over 
			  No  Offence description  Total proceedings  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody 
			 1 Using motor vehicles uninsured against third party risks 299,419 12,101 10,369 3,717 — 255,132 197,140 152,601 — 
			
			 2 Driving, or causing or permitting another person to drive other than in accordance with licence 181,940 9,975 8,361 1,540 — 152,015 109,384 64,922 — 
			
			 3 Speed limit offences 177,593 534 468 377 — 143,058 109,685 118,083 — 
			
			 4 Vehicle test offences 125,596 2,518 2,518 241 — 109,562 119,509 27,273 — 
			
			 5 Motor vehicle licence - failing to pay appropriate duty 90,028 102 40 25 — 72,463 63,477 62,340 — 
			
			 6 Other miscellaneous motoring offences(1) 78,051 180 119 54 — 61,630 41,345 37,872 — 
			
			 7 Driving with alcohol in the blood above the prescribed limit 77,834 1,358 1,303 198 — 66,248 63,693 46,514 2,849 
			
			 8 Other vehicle insurance offences (except forgery etc)(2) 46,220 616 127 34 43 40,546 14,324 3,032 — 
			 9 Failing to produce driving licence 36,145 468 120 28 — 31,877 15,846 5,969 — 
			
			 10 Driving whilst disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence 34,579 1,457 1,292 21 391 31,501 28,743 1,783 10,099 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of offences 
			Females 
			Aged 10-17  Aged 18 & over 
			  No  Offence description  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody  Total proceedings  Total findings of guilt  Fined  Immediate custody 
			 1 Using motor vehicles uninsured against third party risks 520 452 167 — 31,666 24,771 21,207 — 
			   
			 2 Driving, or causing or permitting another person to drive other than in accordance with licence 467 397 79 — 19,483 14,268 8,537 — 
			   
			 3 Speed limit offences 23 19 17 — 33,978 28,568 28,356 — 
			   
			 4 Vehicle test offences 84 84 8 — 13,432 13,435 3,393 — 
			   
			 5 Motor vehicle licence - failing to pay appropriate duty 6 3 2 — 17,457 15,205 14,919 — 
			   
			 6 Other miscellaneous motoring offences(1) 8 5 4 — 16,233 10,251 8,995 — 
			   
			 7 Driving with alcohol in the blood above the prescribed limit 119 115 6 — 10,109 9,774 7,566 100 
			   
			 8 Other vehicle insurance offences (except forgery etc)(2) 22 1 — — 5,036 1,561 272 — 
			   
			 9 Failing to produce driving licence 10 1 — — 3,790 1,883 693 — 
			   
			 10 Driving whilst disqualified from holding or obtaining a licence 27 23 1 2 1,594 1,502 148 280 
			 — = Nil. (1) Includes offences under SS 13(1), 17(2), 18(4), 34(1), 71(1), 75(5), 76(1), 76(3), 83, 123(4), 135, 177 & Sch 1(6) of the Road Traffic Act 1988; SS 3(1)(a) & (b) of the Road Traffic (Foreign Vehicles) Act 1972; SS 35A(2),47(1), 47(3), 104, 112(4), 117 & Sch 12 Para 3(5) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1994; Regs 3, 9, 22, 33, 83, 86 & 89 of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986; Regs 7, 8, 23 27 & 28 of the End-of-Life Vehicle Regulations 2003; and S4BD of the Chronically Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970. (2) Includes offences under SS147, 154(2), 165(3), 170(7) & 171(2); and the Motor Vehicles (Third Party Risks) Regulations 1972.  Notes: 1. A person appearing in court can be dealt with for more than one offence at that appearance. The table shows the number of offences dealt with and not the number of persons appearing in court. 2. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences are less than complete. 3. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.

Shoplifting: Fixed Penalties

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many penalty notices were issued for shoplifting of goods up to the value of £200 in each of the last four years.

Maria Eagle: The number of persons aged 16 and over, issued with a PND for shoplifting (of goods up to a value of £200), from 2004 to 2007 (latest available) in England and Wales can be viewed in the following table. The offence of theft (retail) was added to the PND Scheme in November 2004.
	Operational guidance issued to forces makes clear that PND disposal should normally be considered only for theft of goods up to a value of £100. PND disposal up to the cap of £200 would be exceptional and require the consent of the victim/retailer. The majority of PNDs are issued for theft of goods below £100.
	
		
			  N umber of persons aged 16 and over, issued with a penalty notice for disorder for the offence Theft (retail under £200), in England and Wales, 2004 to 2007( 1, 2, 3) 
			   Number 
			 2004 2,072 
			 2005 21,997 
			 2006 38,772 
			 2007 45,146 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) Offence is a notifiable offence included within OBTJ figures. (3) The offence of theft (retail) was added to the PND Scheme in November 2004  Source:  Office for Criminal Justice Reform - Evidence and Analysis Unit.

Taxis: Licensing

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how many people were  (a) charged,  (b) convicted and  (c) sentenced to immediate custody for offences relating to unlicensed taxis in each of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 S.167, and the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 Sec 40-60 and 62-68, in England and Wales, 2003 to 2007 can be viewed in the following table.
	Court proceedings data are unable to separately identify offences under section 47 of the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 as the offences of Hackney carriage driver without a licence and Employing an unlicensed Hackney carriage driver under this statute are grouped together.
	These offences do not carry a custodial sentence. The maximum penalty that can be given for these offences is a fine.
	These data are on the principal offence basis. The figures given in the table on court proceedings relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offence for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences, the offence selected is the one for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts and found guilty at all courts for offences under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 S.167 and the Town Police Clauses Act 1847 Sec 40-60 and 62-68, in England and Wales, 2003-07( 1,2,3) 
			   Statute 
			   Town Police Clauses Act 1847 Sec 40-60 and 62-68  Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 Sec 167 
			   Proceeded against  Found guilty  Proceeded against  Found guilty 
			 2003 337 270 259 194 
			 2004 292 248 483 311 
			 2005 283 233 597 422 
			 2006 391 325 714 384 
			 2007 378 336 753 458 
			 (1 )These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Includes the following statutes and corresponding offence descriptions: Town Police Clauses Act 1847 Sec 40-60 and 62-68. Offences peculiar to stage carriage and public service vehicles. Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994, Sec 167. Touting for hire car service without PSV operator's licence. (3) Court proceedings data are unable to separate Section 47—Act as a Hackney carriage driver without a licence and Employ an unlicensed Hackney carriage driver—from the other set of offences under this statute as they are grouped together.  Note: These figures have been drawn from administrative data systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system.  Source:  OMS Analytical Services.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Billing

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many organisations her Department has contacted asking them to pay suppliers within 10 days of receiving an invoice.

Sadiq Khan: The Department has written out to its agencies and non departmental government bodies.

Community Relations

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she expects to publish the feasibility study regarding the provision for the integration of migrants referred to on page 43 of the report, Managing the Impacts of Migration: a Cross Government Approach.

Sadiq Khan: The 'Review of Migrant Integration Policy in the UK (including a feasibility study of the proposal for an Integration Agency)' was published on 11 June 2008. It can be viewed on Communities and Local Government's website at:
	www.communities.gov.uk/documents/communities/pdf/838994.pdf.

Community Relations: Religion

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what publications her Department and its predecessors have issued on faith communities since 1997.

Sadiq Khan: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Member for Gloucester (Mr. Dhanda) to the right hon. Member for Leeds, West (John Battle) on 29 November 2007,  Official Report, column 689W. Since then, the Department has produced two further publications: "Face to Face and Side by Side—a framework for partnership in our multi faith society", and "Believing in Local Action" in association with the Church Urban Fund.

Compulsory Purchase: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1264W, on compulsory purchase: coastal areas, for what reasons the information requested is not held centrally.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 15 December 2008,  Official Report, column 360W. CPOs made by local authorities are for a wide range of purposes and justified by site-specific considerations. We have no specific need to hold this information centrally and therefore the administrative cost of doing so is not justified.

Council Tax: Arrears

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance is given to local authorities on the recovery of council tax arrears and procedures to be followed by private companies contracted to recover them; and when this guidance will next be reviewed.

John Healey: Communities and Local Government's predecessor department the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister jointly published, with the Government Operational Research Service a Council Tax Collection Good Practice Report in 2004. The report looks at ways of sharing good practice among practitioners, in order to promote continuous improvement in service delivery and collection.
	The report can be accessed via Communities and Local Government website at
	http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/ctax/goodprac.pdf.

Council Tax: Arrears

Elliot Morley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether local authorities may use county courts to recover council tax arrears.

John Healey: No. Under Schedule 4 to the Local Government Finance Act 1992 recovery of council tax arrears must be through a magistrates court. However, we are looking at reforms to allow billing authorities to transfer council tax debts from magistrates courts to county courts in certain circumstances.

Council Tax: Pensions

John Stanley: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 19 November 2008,  Official Report, column 505W, on council tax: pensions, what proportion of local authority revenue went towards meeting pension liabilities and costs in the latest period for which information is available.

John Healey: The proportion of local authority revenue expenditure in 2007-08 that comprised employers' contributions to pension funds and other retirement benefits was 8 per cent. Information used to compile this percentage was published in the 'Local Authority Revenue Expenditure and Financing England 2007-08 Final Outturn' statistical release on 28 November 2008.
	Revenue expenditure defined here is that expenditure financed by grants inside Aggregate External Finance (i.e. revenue grants paid for council's core services), council tax and authorities' reserves and is on a non-Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 17 basis.

Departmental Contracts

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with how many faith-based organisations her Department has contracts to provide public services.

Sadiq Khan: This information is not held centrally and could be supplied only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Energy

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to reduce the amount of energy it wastes.

Sadiq Khan: Communities and Local Government is undertaking a wide range of activity to reduce its energy consumption.
	Programmes include installing boiler efficiency devices, replacing older lighting with high efficiency models fitted with movement and daylight sensors, fitting further timers to local water boilers and chillers, and reducing the use of humidification plant where appropriate.
	We are actively rationalising our estate to reduce our total footprint. To assist this programme, we are adopting flexible desking in our main headquarter building to ensure the most efficient use of available workstations.
	To reduce the demand for heating and air conditioning, building temperature set points are being reduced in winter and increased in summer.
	We are reducing the number of printers, photocopiers, and fax machines and replacing them with multi-function devices as part of our wider Sustainable ICT Action Plan. Other initiatives will include removing screen savers and improving the energy efficiency settings of existing devices.
	We are assessing further opportunities identified in the advisory reports which accompany our display energy certificates and energy performance certificate, and we are also conducting a number of feasibility studies to assess options for server room heat recovery, reconfiguration of hydraulics to reduce water cooling requirements, options for ground source cooling and potential for voltage optimisation.

Departmental Public Consultation

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government on which occasions her Department has convened a citizens' jury or randomly drawn panel of people to aid the Department's policy making since 2000; whether the participants were paid in each case; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to the right hon. Member for Maidenhead (Mrs. May) on 22 October 2008,  Official Report, column 350W.
	My Department recognises the important contribution that the public can make in developing policy and carry out a wide range of activities which allow ministers and officials to listen to and understand the views of the public and stakeholders in developing policy.
	With regard to the period before Communities and Local Government was formed in 2006, I refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by the Under-Secretary my hon. Friend the Member for Poplar and Canning Town (Jim Fitzpatrick) to the hon. Member for North Swindon (Mr. Wills) on 31 January 2006,  Official Report, column 420W and to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State to the hon. Member for Maidenhead on 30 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1161W.

Fire Services: Industrial Health and Safety

Nick Herbert: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government when she plans to issue the guidance for independent qualified medical practitioners providing an opinion on permanent disability, fitness for regular work, qualifying injury and degree of disability document agreed with the Fire Brigades Union in June 2008.

Sadiq Khan: The guidance is one element of a package which, earlier this year, the group reviewing ill health retirement arrangements in the Firefighters' Pension Scheme agreed should be issued to help employers and medical practitioners carry out their duties under the scheme. As issues relating to the interpretation of the scheme are currently the subject of an appeal, we do not propose to issue the guidance until the judgment of the Court of Appeal is available and I am satisfied that the guidance is consistent with it.

Home Information Packs

Tom Levitt: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make the fitting of a working carbon monoxide alarm a condition of a home information pack where a gas supply is present.

Iain Wright: No. The home information pack (HIP) provides prospective buyers with important information about a property early in the home buying and selling process. There is no power in the HIPs legislation to require sellers to make any changes or adaptations to their homes in order to be able to put them on the market.

Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether an impact assessment has been prepared for the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme.

Iain Wright: In the current economic climate, Government needs to act quickly and responsively to help support households facing difficult circumstances. As part of a much wider package of real help for home owners, the recently announced Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme will enable ordinary hard-working households that experience a redundancy or significant loss of income to reduce their monthly payments to a more manageable level, by deferring a proportion of the interest payments on their mortgage for up to two years. The Government will guarantee to lenders they will get the payments back in return for them participating in the scheme.
	Government are currently working closely with the lenders to agree the details of the scheme. Further details, including an impact assessment, will be published early in the new year.

Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what estimate she has made of the number of people who will be assisted by the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme in  (a) the UK,  (b) the North East,  (c) Tees Valley district and  (d) Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland constituency.

Iain Wright: In the current economic climate, the Government need to act quickly and responsively to help support households facing difficult circumstances. As part of a much wider package of real help for homeowners, the recently announced Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme will enable ordinary hard-working households that experience a redundancy or significant loss of income to reduce their monthly payments to a more manageable level, by deferring a proportion of the interest payments on their mortgage for up to two years. The Government will guarantee to lenders they will get the payments back in return for them participating in the scheme.
	We are not setting a limit or a target for the number of households this scheme can help, either on a UK-wide or regional basis - this is a consumer and lender-led scheme, backed up by a Government guarantee. We want to see this scheme help as many households as possible.

Housing: Carbon Emissions

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what grants are available for the construction of low carbon buildings; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: The Government are providing a number of financial incentives and support for the building of low carbon buildings.
	The Government have introduced a time limited stamp duty land tax relief for new homes which meet Code Level 6 of the Code for Sustainable Homes.
	The Low Carbon Building Programme is the Government's £86 million grant programme to encourage and support the development of microgeneration technologies in new buildings, further information is available at
	www.lowcarbonbuildings.org.uk/home/.
	The new Homes and Communities Agency is responsible for a programme of investment with local areas and sub-regions which includes support for the development of low carbon buildings. It is a currently a condition of receiving HCA grant that new homes are built to higher energy performance standards than are in Part L of the current Building Regulations.
	The Government have agreed also to provide pump priming funding for the zero carbon hub, which has been set up by industry to manage delivery of the programme for zero carbon homes from 2016.

Housing: Inspections

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many home inspectors qualified to produce home condition reports were registered in England at the latest date for which figures are available.

Iain Wright: To date, 874 home inspectors who are qualified to produce home condition reports were registered in England.

Housing: Inspections

Howard Stoate: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment her Department has made of the adequacy of the number of registered home inspectors to meet consumer demand; and if she will make a statement.

Iain Wright: None. Home condition reports can be included in a home information pack on a voluntary basis.

Local Government Finance

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of any additional resources required by local authorities in England as a result of the proposed extra responsibilities in relation to education and training for 16 to 18 year olds, as set out in the Raising Expectations White Paper; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The Government are committed to ensuring that all new burdens falling on local authorities are fully and properly funded. Any policy which increases the cost of providing local authority services is subject to the new burdens doctrine and, where appropriate, funding is provided through the formula grant system or specific grants. The impact of the Education and Skills Bill, which received Royal Assent on 26 November 2008, has been taken into account.

Local Government: Reorganisation

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether she expects the Boundary Commission's review of judging bids for unitary status in aggregate to take into consideration the effect of local government structural changes on existing unitary authorities in Devon.

John Healey: While it is for the Boundary Committee to decide how it proceeds, only if an alternative proposal involves changes to the boundaries of an existing Devon unitary authority, do we expect the Boundary Committee's assessment of that proposal to include consideration of any implications for the existing unitary authority.
	However, our request to the Boundary Committee of 6 February 2008 made clear that any alternative unitary proposals which we asked the Committee to make should involve changes to the boundaries of existing Devon unitary authorities only if, on the basis of evidence received, the Committee considers that they are essential.

Mental Illness

Jo Swinson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the recommendations relevant to her Department's policy responsibilities made in the Foresight report on Mental Capacity and Well-Being; and if she will make a statement.

Sadiq Khan: The Department was pleased to read the Foresight report on Mental Capacity and Well-Being. My Department will be considering how this report impacts on housing support for older people and people with mental health problems as well as on the promotion of mental well-being within our own work force.

Mobile Homes: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  for what reasons information on the number of  (a) permanent caravans,  (b) holiday caravans and  (c) houses of multiple occupation in the catchment area of each principal seaside town in England is not held or available centrally;
	(2)  with reference to the answer of 20 November 2008,  Official Report, column 771W, on mobile homes: coastal areas, what consideration she has made of the merits of collecting such information centrally; and if she will make it her policy to collect such information.

Iain Wright: It is the policy of Communities and Local Government to reduce local authority burdens in the collection of data. The Department sees no merit in collecting information on the number of mobile homes in coastal areas.

Multiple Occupation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1274W, on multiple occupation, if she will publish a list of all those who have given evidence to the Building Research Establishment review of houses in multiple occupation legislation.

Iain Wright: The Department is unable to provide this information. Evidence provided to the Building Research Establishment (BRE) by stakeholders has been treated in confidence. Details on the number of responses and their views will be reflected in the final report on a non-attributable basis. The final report is due to be published in spring 2009.

Multiple Occupation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 18 February 2008,  Official Report, column 47W, on multiple occupation: licensing, for what reasons 14 per cent. of local authorities are not using a range of tools to identify houses in multiple occupation being operated illegally without a licence.

Iain Wright: The Department does not hold this information. The Department has funded Local Authorities Co-ordinators of Regulatory Services (LACORS) to support local housing authorities in England and Wales in implementing mandatory licensing of houses of multiple occupation (HMOs). LACORS issues guidance, advice, and coordinates and disseminates best practice in relation to regulation of private sector housing.
	The survey conducted by LACORs in August 2007 concluded that 86 per cent. of councils were using a range of tools to identify HMOs being operated illegally without a licence. LACORs produced good practice guidance for local authorities on tackling unlicensed HMOs in February 2008.

Multiple Occupation

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  with reference to the answer of 17 November 2008,  Official Report, column 129W, on multiple occupation: coastal areas, for what reasons the information requested is not held centrally;
	(2)  with reference to the answer of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1274W, on multiple occupation: coastal areas, for what reasons information on the take-up of mandatory licensing of houses in multiple occupation licences in seaside towns is not available centrally;
	(3)  with reference to the Answer of 17 November 2008,  Official Report, column 129W, on multiple occupation: coastal areas, if she will make it her policy to  (a) collect and  (b) hold centrally information on houses of multiple occupation in seaside towns.

Iain Wright: Communities and Local Government does collect from local authorities their estimates of the total numbers of HMOs but only at local authority level. It is not possible to break these figures down below local authority level but in many cases the local authority statistics on HMOs will approximate to the seaside towns that they either contain or constitute. The latest figures are for April 2007 and these can be found on the Department's website at:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/xls/sectionsfg.xls.
	The Department also collects information on licensing of HMOs. Although this is at property level the Department is not currently in a position to produce statistics for seaside towns. This is under review. For the latest statistics on HMO licensing for the local authorities that contain or constitute seaside towns I refer my hon. Friend to the answer I gave on 15 December 2008,  Official Report, column 372W-73W.
	It is not possible to calculate take up rates for HMO licensing, for either seaside towns or local authorities, because there is no practical source for information at local level on the total numbers of licensable HMOs.

Multiple Occupation: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 17 November 2008,  Official Report, column 129W, on multiple occupation: coastal areas, what consideration she has made of the merits of collecting such information centrally; and if she will make it her policy to collect such information.

Iain Wright: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave today (PQs 244439, 244419, 244449).

Multiple Occupation: Licensing

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 18 February 2008,  Official Report, column 47W, on multiple occupation: licensing, what estimate she has made of the number and percentage of houses of multiple occupation that should be licensed in each of the next five years.

Iain Wright: The Department does not hold this information. The Building Research Establishment (BRE) is carrying out a review of the houses in multiple occupation (HMO) licensing regime across all local authorities in England. This will include their estimate of the number of HMOs that are subject to mandatory HMO licensing. The final report is due to be published in spring 2009.

Non-Domestic Rates: Business

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what guidance her Department provides to local authorities on the circumstances under which they may refuse business rates relief under section 49 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 to voluntary groups; and if she will make a statement.

John Healey: The Department publishes guidance to local authorities in the form of a booklet called: 'Non Domestic Rates: Guidance on Rate Relief for Charities and Other Non-Profit Making Organisations'. This is available on the Department's website at
	http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/busrats/nndr/07.htm.
	Chapter 7 specifies that local authorities should decide on the facts of each case whether to exercise its powers under section 49.
	A copy of the guidance on hardship relief as been placed in the Library for reference.

Regeneration: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1277W, on regeneration: coastal areas, if she will make it her policy to collect centrally information on the work of each regional improvement and efficiency partnership in respect of seaside towns.

John Healey: We do not currently have any plans to make it policy to collect centrally information on the work of regional improvement and efficiency partnership in respect of seaside towns. However in the future, emerging findings from progress reports on economic development will give the opportunity to analyse the work of RIEPs on seaside towns.

Regeneration: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which  (a) organisations and  (b) individuals her officials met during the consultation on the Government's Regeneration Framework document on seaside towns.

John Healey: The framework, 'Transforming places; changing lives: a framework for regeneration', sets out Government's vision for regeneration for the whole of England over the next 10 years.
	During the consultation period, officials met the British Urban Regeneration Association (BURA) who invited members from their Seaside Network to attend the meeting. My officials have also taken opportunities to promote the draft framework since the document was launched in July and to engage seaside towns in the consultation exercise, through meetings of the RDA-led Coastal Areas Network and the main seaside town "umbrella" organisations, including the Coastal Communities Alliance (CCA), and the British Resorts and Destinations Association (BRADA).

Regeneration: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1503W, on housing: standards, what measures her Department is taking to reduce the considerable variation in regeneration between the principal seaside towns of England.

Iain Wright: The role and use of regeneration schemes are a matter for local decision making. The Homes and Communities Agency (HCA) became operational on 1 December 2008. We established the HCA to join up the delivery of housing and regeneration and it will provide the expertise and the skills to assist local authorities and communities to deliver the ambitions they have for their area.

Regeneration: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government with reference to the answer of 25 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1276W, on regeneration: coastal areas, if she will place in the Library a list of those who responded to the consultation on the regeneration of seaside towns.

John Healey: I have today placed in the Library a list of those who responded to the consultation on the proposed Regeneration Framework, "Transforming Places; changing lives": a framework for regeneration. The framework covers the whole of England—not just seaside towns.

Relative Needs Formula

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the relative needs formula developed by her Department includes a weighting for the number of  (a) vulnerable adults and children,  (b) former offenders,  (c) drug addicts and alcoholics,  (d) homeless people and  (e) mentally ill people in an area; and what measures are in place to ensure that funding follows the client across local authority boundaries in such cases.

John Healey: The formula grant distribution model consists of a number of individual relative needs formulae (RNFs) for each of the main service areas that are provided by authorities—children's services, adults' personal social services, highways maintenance, police, fire and rescue, environmental, protective and cultural services, and capital financing.
	The individual weightings used in each of these RNFs in the current year can be found in Chapter 4 of the Local Government Finance Report (2008-09).
	http://www.local.communities.gov.uk/finance/0809/lgfr0809s/chapter4.pdf
	These RNFs estimate the need to provide services in an area relative to other areas and are based on socio-economic and demographic factors. Most RNFs consist of a basic client group, plus "top ups" to take into account additional need related factors such as deprivation, additional population, density and sparsity.
	The distribution of formula grant takes into account the relative needs, the relative ability of an area to raise council tax locally (resources), a central allocation and a floor damping mechanism. It is an unhypothecated block grant i.e. authorities are free to spend the money on any service provided they meet their statutory duties. For these reasons, it is not possible to say how much grant has been provided for any particular service. Therefore, the funding formula does not include measures to ensure that funding follows individual clients across local authority boundaries.

INNOVATION, UNIVERSITIES AND SKILLS

Charities

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills which charities his Department has provided funding of more than £100,000 to in each of the last three years; and how much was given to each.

Si�n Simon: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007.
	Some of the Department's non departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are registered charities. These NDPBs are contracted to provide agreed outcomes. The funding provided to these bodies by the Department and predecessor Departments are as follows:
	
		
			  000 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Design Council 6,179 6,069 6,035 
			 Quality Improvement Agency (QIA) 82,773 109,764  
			 Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS)   100,000 
			  Note: QIA was part of the merger to form LSIS in October 2008; hence there are no figures for QIA in 2008-09. 
		
	
	In addition to the NDPBs there are several bodies that are contracted to provide services.
	
		
			  000 
			   2006-07  2007-08  2008-09 
			 Lifelong Learning UK 1,299 13,081 19,500 
			 NIACE 2,574 10,004 5,098 
			 SKILL 100 160 100 
			 PET 256 255 268 
			  Key: NIACE: National Institute for Adult Continuing Education SKILL: National Bureau for Students with Disabilities PET: Prisoners Education Trust 
		
	
	Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) and Engineering Construction Industry Training Board (ECITB) are two NDPBs with charitable status, however they are funded by levy, so attract no Departmental funding directly. However CITB have delivered Invest to Save Projects :
	CITB Gas 2006-07 160,000 (plus 113,000 capital), 2007-08 103,000

Christmas

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much has been spent on  (a) departmental Christmas parties and  (b) staff entertainment in each year since his Department's formation.

Si�n Simon: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills was established under Machinery of Government changes in June 2007.
	In 2007-08 the Secretary of State hosted one official Christmas function for 50 people which cost 665. Departmental divisions do hold Christmas parties for staff to attend, for which staff must pay themselves.
	The Department made no other spending on entertainment for staff.

Departmental Air Travel

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills with reference to the answer to the hon. Member for Rochford and Southend, East of 6 October 2008,  Official Report, column 527W, on departmental air travel, if he will place in the Library the DIUS figures provided by the Department for Children, Schools and Families for 2007-08.

Si�n Simon: The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created as a result of machinery of government changes in June 2007. Therefore, details for air travel for DIUS prior to this date are not available.
	DIUS currently operate two information systems, being those of its predecessor Departments: the Department for Education and Skills (DfES), now the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) and the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI), now the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR). Consequently this information comes from these two different sources.
	The total amount spent on air travel by the Department for 2007-08 was 257,219.
	The details provided by BERR's information system does not record air travel cost according to the class of air travel taken. To disaggregate this expenditure would incur a disproportionate cost.
	The data provided by DCSF's information system is as follows for 2007-08:
	11,074 on first-class flights;
	81,677 on business class flights; and
	37,541 on other class flights.
	The Department's Executive agencies are the National Weights and Measures Laboratory (NWML) and UK Intellectual Property Office (UKIPO).
	NWML records all airfare travel within its 'travel and subsistence' code. It is not possible to disaggregate the costs of different classes of air travel used without incurring a disproportionate cost.
	In 2006-07, UKIPO's information system recorded:
	(a) Nil spend on first class flights;
	(b) 88,509 on business class flights; and
	(c) 82,877 on other class flights.
	In 2007-08, UKIPO's information system recorded:
	(a) Nil spend on first class flights;
	(b) 62,433 on business class flights; and
	(c) 58,469 on other class flights.
	All official travel is carried out in accordance with the requirements of the Civil Service Management Code.

Departmental Furniture

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much has been spent by his Department on furniture made by  (a) British firms,  (b) Remploy and  (c) overseas firms since it was established.

Si�n Simon: The Department for Innovation Universities and Skills (DIUS) was created as a result of Machinery of Government changes in June 2007. Therefore, details regarding expenditure prior to this date are not available.
	In 2007-08, the Department spent 554,000 on furniture and fittings. All furniture purchased in 2007-08 was supplied by British companies. All of this furniture was manufactured in the United Kingdom, except a batch of chairs costing some 10,000 which were manufactured in the United States of America. No furniture purchased by the Department was manufactured by Remploy.
	All expenditure is incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.

Departmental Higher Education

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many staff in his Department undertook courses funded by the Department for  (a) undergraduate degrees,  (b) postgraduate degrees or diplomas,  (c) Masters degrees,  (d) MBA degrees and  (e) PhD degrees in the last 12 months, broken down by pay band.

Si�n Simon: The Department does not collect this information centrally in the form requested. Information on the number of staff taking degree or diploma courses funded by the Department is held locally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	The criteria for funding degree or diploma courses will be driven by Professional Skills for Government.

Departmental Marketing

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much his Department has spent on advertising in each month since it was first established; how much his Department has spent on advertising each of its programmes in each month since its establishment; and how much of such expenditure was incurred in respect of each advertising medium.

Si�n Simon: The Department has funded the Higher Education Student Finance Campaign. Details are provided in the following table:
	
		
			   
			   TV  Radio  Online  Press  Total 
			  2007  
			 November 1,209,482 340,964 124,284 114,853 1,789,583 
			 December 12,518 88,585 23,791 89,444 214,338 
			   
			  2008  
			 January  122,362 82,183 17,834 222,379 
			 February   20,517  20,517 
			 March   23,117  23,117 
			 November 1,180,000 193,734 90,541 24,443 1,488,718 
			 December   20,143 6,268 26,411 
		
	
	All costs are gross media.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many special advisers were employed in his Department at each pay band on 30 November 2008; and what his Department's total expenditure on special advisers was in 2007-08.

Si�n Simon: The Government are committed to publishing an annual list detailing the number and costs of special advisers. Information for 2007-08 was published by the Prime Minister on 22 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 99-102WS.

Departmental Official Hospitality

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what records his Department maintains of its expenditure on  (a) official hospitality and  (b) alcohol for official hospitality.

Si�n Simon: All expenditure, including that on hospitality, has to be incurred in accordance with the principles of Managing Public Money and the Treasury handbook on Regularity and Propriety.
	The Department records details of some of its expenditure on hospitality in the UK and overseas separately in its accounting systems. In other cases, expenditure on official hospitality is aggregated with costs for events such as conferences and meetings or with general entertainment expenses, as well as being included in individual subsistence claims. Copies of invoices relating to all expenditure are retained by the responsible teams or, in the cases of science, research and innovation teams, in the former DTI central finance transaction processing unit.
	Expenditure on alcohol for official hospitality is not recorded separately.
	The basic rules governing entertainment are derived from Treasury authorities. There is a presumption that public money will not be used to purchase alcohol. However, exceptionally, if not providing alcohol to non-civil servants could lead to greater embarrassment for the Department, moderate amounts (in quantity and quality) may be purchased for formal evening gatherings such as meals or presentations. As with any expenditure on personal entertainment, the reasons should be both clearly defensible and well documented.

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills if he will make it his policy to ensure that those temporary and permanent employees at the same grade in his Department who are paid at an hourly rate are paid at the same rate.

Si�n Simon: In the Department, all permanent and temporary employees are salaried, and the same policies are applied on starting salary.

Foreign Students

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many Japanese students are studying in English universities.

David Lammy: In the 2006-07 academic year there were 5,195 Japanese domiciled enrolments at English higher education institutions. This figure comes from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record and covers enrolments to all levels and modes of study. Comparable figures for the 2007-08 academic year will be available in late January 2009.

Further Education: Reorganisation

Rob Marris: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what tasks he has asked each Government Office to undertake in relation to the proposed changes to the funding and management of further education colleges; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: The White Paper 'Raising Expectations: enabling the system to deliver', set out proposals to ensure that the needs of learners (young people and adults) and employers are met by a more responsive system. Responsibility for the planning, commissioning and funding for education and training for 16 to 19-year-olds will transfer to local authorities, supported by a new Young People's Learning Agency. For adults we propose to build on the demand led approach, including through the creation of a new Skills Funding Agency and strengthened advice and support services for adults and employers.
	Government offices will have no direct role in funding and management of FE colleges in the new system. They will contribute to discussion of regional priorities and support local authorities in undertaking their new responsibilities. They are, and will continue to be, a conduit for information to flow from sub-regional groupings (SRGs) to DCSF. During the transition to the new system Government offices are playing an important role in supporting local authorities and working with other regional bodies to prepare. In particular they have been supporting the development of SRGs in preparation for the transfer of 16-19 funding from the LSC to local authorities. DCSF will be allocating funding via Government offices to SRGs to help build their capacity through this process.
	More detail on the pre-19 proposals can be accessed via this link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/publications/14-19nextsteps/.
	More detail on the Skills Funding Agency can be found in the recently published 'Adult Skills Reforms: An Update', accessible via this link:
	http://www.dius.gov.uk/policy/raising_expectations.html.

Further Education: Sight Impaired

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure adequate funding is available for further education training courses for those who are visually impaired; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: Learners with learning difficulties and/or disabilities (LLDD) are a priority for public funding. This was recently reaffirmed through the Government's grant letter to the Learning and Skills Council (LSC) for 2009-10 (November, 2008). This sets out how the LSC will continue to develop the support and provision available to these learners, in line with the vision described in the Learning for Living and Work strategy that people with LDD have access to and experience of post-19 learning that is equal to that experienced by their peers without LDD.
	Learning providers are required by the Disability Discrimination Act to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled learners do not experience barriers to learning. Such adjustments can be funded through the college or providers' mainstream allocation for adults and/or young people, or through the Additional Learning Support Fund (ALS) which provides higher levels of support to meet specific needs. Visually impaired learners are frequently the beneficiaries of this fund.
	Each region will have an LLDD strategy describing what the priorities are for the region in line with an analysis of need. The combination of better planning to meet local need and the funding secured through ALS budget are the main steps to ensure there is adequate funding to meet the needs of those with visual impairment.

Further Education: Vocational Training

Andy Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps he is taking to ensure continued national funding is available to further education colleges which provide vocational training opportunities nationally.

Si�n Simon: As set out in the Government grant letter to the Learning and Skills Council (18 November 2008), overall investment through the LSC for the education and training of young people and adults is planned to increase from 11.6 billion in 2008-09 to over 12.1 billion in 2009-10. This will be focused on boosting greater participation in education and training, so more young people and adults are best placed to get and keep secure careers; and empowering colleges to work more closely with businesses with urgent training needs.
	We will continue to increase investment for vocational training including: 925 million in 2009-10 through the Train to Gain programme which we are committed to expanding and improving so that to respond flexibly to employer demand; and over 1 billion in 2009-10 for apprenticeships for young people and adults.
	As set out in the LSC Grant Letter/Statement of Priorities, from 2009-10, the LSC will operate a principle of having only one relationship with each FE college/provider, moving towards a position where they have only one funding contract. This means that FE colleges/providers operating in different regions will no longer have to agree multiple funding contracts.

Higher Education: Business

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department is taking to encourage the greater integration of higher education with business and industry.

David Lammy: The Government encourage integration of higher education with business and industry in many ways, a number of which are as follows.
	The High Level Skills Strategy sets out why and how the Government are encouraging higher education institutions (HEIs) to help meet the demands of business through knowledge exchange, as well as by supplying skilled graduates and post-graduates and by providing high level skills learning for those in the workforce. For example, the 2008 Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) Grant letter allocated over 100 million of new resources over the spending review period to support new co-funded entrants, infrastructure development and wider employer engagement activity within HEIs.
	The Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) gives every English HEI funding to build its capacity to work with business. This fund will reach 150 million per annum by the end of the spending review period. There is a business support element of quality-related (QR) funding to HEIs, which in 2008-09 totals 61.7 million. Allocation is based on the amount of research income institutions receive from UK industry, commerce and public corporations.
	During 2008-11 the Technology Strategy Board (TSB) will co-ordinate a 1 billion programme in partnership with research councils and the regional development agencies (RDAs) with a key aim of helping businesses to access the research base. In addition to this, the TSB invests in business-university collaborations through Knowledge Transfer Partnerships.
	Research councils have a strong economic impact agenda and support activities which encourage working with business, including significant amounts of collaborative research. RDAs will provide Innovation Vouchers to at least 500 businesses as a means for smaller firms to collaborate with knowledge institutions to help those firms boost their innovation.
	Together, these measures will help the HE sector work with Government, business and industry to ensure that the needs of a 21(st)-century knowledge economy are met, even in challenging times for the global economy.

Learning and Skills Council: Disabled

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps the Learning and Skills Council has taken to comply with the disability equality duty; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: The Learning and Skills Council's (LSC) Single Equality Scheme publication (April 2007) sets out how the LSC will fulfil its statutory duties to promote equality of opportunity and avoid discrimination. It also sets out specifically how it intends to meet and implement the requirements for a disability equality scheme.

Qualifications

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what recent discussions he has had with the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority on recognising employer-sponsor vendor qualifications, including IT vendor qualifications.

Si�n Simon: The Department is funding the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority to run the Employer and Provider Recognition Programme, promoting the accreditation of high-quality training of employers in England. The Department is in regular discussion with the QCA about the programme and receive frequent reports on the progress of organisations towards gaining recognition as awarding organisations and accreditation of qualifications, including IT qualifications.

Railways: Engineers

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department is taking to increase the number of skilled railway engineers.

Si�n Simon: The Government work through Sector Skills Councils (SSCs) to help promote skills to industry and support employers in closing skills shortages and gaps. GoSkills is the SSC with responsibility for rail engineering.
	In common with all SSCs, GoSkills has developed a sector skills agreement (SSA) which identifies the sector's current and future skills needs. The SSA, which is UK wide, provides a clear platform for education and skills agencies and providers to work with the sector on helping meet those needs.
	GoSkills have also produced their Sector Qualification Strategy which sets out the qualifications that the rail industry needs. Qualifications are regularly updated to ensure that they are fit for purpose and supporting the development of the skills the industry needs. The National Occupational Standards for Rail Engineering will be reviewed in 2009. This review will be driven by industry and will ensure that the industry-specific qualifications and all apprenticeship frameworks for rail engineering are refreshed and reflective of current best practice.
	The partners in the rail industry have put in place a number of initiatives to increase the number of skilled staff in the industry.
	Network Rail have established an award winning apprenticeship scheme using the industry standards. Metronet and Tubelines run major apprenticeship schemes. BIRSE engineering has launched a new apprenticeship scheme with West Anglia college.
	There is an industry-sponsored Foundation Degree in Rail Engineering delivered by Sheffield Hallam university and the industry.
	There are three centres of vocational excellence (CoVE). CoVEs demonstrate expertise in delivering specific types of vocational education and training. CoVEs often have college links and close business partnerships, and aim to produce specialists in a wide range of vocational areas to meet the needs of the marketplace. A celebration of the 10,000th NVQ achieved for all rail disciplines was held in the House of Commons dining room on 4 December for Four Counties Training CoVE and partners.

Student Numbers

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many full-time equivalent student places have been created in each year since 1992.

David Lammy: Information is not available on the number of full-time equivalent student places that have been created in each year since 1992. However information is available on the increase in the number of students enrolled on courses at English higher education institutions and is shown in the following tables.
	Figures are not available on a comparable basis prior to the 1994/95 academic year.
	The latest period for which figures are available is the 2006/07 academic year; figures for the 2007/08 academic year will be available in late January 2009.
	
		
			  Enrolments( 1)  and increases to higher education courses by mode of study. English higher education institutions. 1994/95 to 1997/98 academic years 
			Year on year increase   Year on year increase 
			  Academic year  Full-time enrolments  Number  Proportion (percentage)  Part-time Enrolments  Number  Proportion percentage) 
			 1994/95 870,465   406,700   
			 1995/96(2) 900,030 29,565 3.4 509,670 102,970 25.3 
			 1996/97(3) 922,890 22,860 2.5 508,870 -800 -0.2 
			 1997/98 943,965 21,070 2.3 521,810 12,945 2.5 
			 (1 )Figures cover enrolments from all domiciles to undergraduate and postgraduate courses. (2 )The large increase in part-time enrolments in the 1995/96 academic year is due to three factorstwo institutions transferred from the FE sector to the HE sector, a number of nursing colleges merged with HEIs and several institutions recorded certain types of part-time study for the first time. (3 )The decrease in part-time enrolments in the 1996/97 academic year is due to the Open University providing a split between part-time first year students and other year students for the first time. Students taking Open University credits were all returned as studying at undergraduate level, although some were studying postgraduate level courses. This has the effect of reducing part-time postgraduate numbers.  Note:  1. Figures are on a DIUS snapshot basis as at 1 December to maintain a consistent time series across all years and exclude students on writing up, sabbatical and dormant modes of study.  2. Numbers are rounded to the nearest five and proportions are rounded to one decimal place.  Source:  Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record. 
		
	
	From the 1998/99 academic year and onwards the methodology for counting students was changed from a snapshot (census date) to a whole year count (students active in the academic year) in order to better record students following non traditional enrolment patterns. Therefore the figures in the following table are on a different basis to those in the aforementioned table.
	
		
			  Enrolments( 1)  and increases to higher education courses by mode of study. English higher education institutions. 1998/99 to 2006/07 academic years 
			Year on year increase   Year on year increase 
			  Academic year  Full-time enrolments  Number  Proportion (percentage)  Part-time Enrolments  Number  Proportion (percentage) 
			 1998/99 967,130   631,160   
			 1999/2000 968,640 1,510 0.2 654,975 23,810 3.8 
			 2000/01 984,150 15,510 1.6 672,550 17,580 2.7 
			 2001/02 1,018,115 33,965 3.5 708,725 36,175 5.4 
			 2002/03 1,072,170 54,055 5.3 735,495 26,765 3.8 
			 2003/04 1,111,540 39,370 3.7 756,880 21,385 2.9 
			 2004/05 1,135,780 24,245 2.2 760,045 3,165 0.4 
			 2005/06 1,173,550 37,770 3.3 762,870 2,825 0.4 
			 2006/07 1,187,635 14,085 1.2 769,555 6,685 0.9 
			 (1 )Figures cover enrolments from all domiciles to undergraduate and postgraduate courses.  Note:  Figures are on a HESA Standard Registration Population (SRP) basis. Numbers are rounded to the nearest five and proportions are rounded to one decimal place.  Source:  Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) Student Record.

Train to Gain Programme: Enfield

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people living in Enfield North constituency have participated in the Train to Gain programme in each of the last three years.

Si�n Simon: There were 310 people living in the parliamentary constituency of Enfield North who started a Train to Gain programme in 2006/07.
	 Notes:
	1. Train to Gain was created in April 2006. Standard reporting practice is to include the months of April to July 2006 in the 2006/07 academic year. The aforementioned figure therefore cover Train to Gain achievements over a 16-month period.
	2. Fully audited figures are not yet available for 2007/08.
	3. Constituency is based on learner's home postcode.

Train To Gain Programme: Halton

Derek Twigg: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how many people living in Halton have participated in the Train to Gain programme in each of the last three years.

Si�n Simon: There were 480 people living in the parliamentary constituency of Halton who started a Train to Gain programme in 2006-07.
	 Notes
	1. Train to Gain was created in April 2006. Standard reporting practice is to include the months of April to July 2006 in the 2006-07 academic year. These figures therefore cover Train to Gain achievements over a 16-month period.
	2. Fully audited figures are not yet available for 2007-08.
	3. Constituency is based on learner's home postcode.

Train to Gain Programme: Oxfordshire

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what estimate he has made of the number of businesses in Oxfordshire that will receive extra Train to Gain funding as announced in the Pre-Budget Report.

Si�n Simon: I recently announced that I have relaxed the funding rules for Train to Gain for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). To help get them the training that they need, these new flexibilities offer funding for selected units and thin qualifications in business critical areas , and more funding for qualifications at level 2 and 3 for those who already have qualifications at that level. We are promoting this new offer to all SMEs. We will also continue to encourage larger employers to access Train to Gain to help increase the skills of their staff and the productivity of their business.
	It is not possible to predict the level of take up particular to a local authority as it is dependent on employer demand. LSC data indicate that during the 2006-07 academic year, 41,700 SMEs were engaged by Train to Gain, representing 83 per cent. of all employers engaged.

Vocational Training

Joan Ryan: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills what steps his Department plans to take to ensure that people who lose their jobs in the current economic downturn will have the necessary skills and qualifications to re-enter employment.

Si�n Simon: The Government announced in October 2008 that we are setting aside 100 million from the European Social Fund (ESF) and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS) to deliver integrated employment and skills support for those facing redundancy. The pre-Budget report on 24 November announced that the funds available now total 158 million and form part of a wider package on employment to support retraining, skills development and job search for those facing redundancy or already looking for work.
	Support will be carefully targeted to help, for example, people from sectors experiencing significant job losses and will help the Learning and Skills Council, with local colleges and training providers working closely with Jobcentre Plus to make sure those people most affected get access to the services they need.
	The Department is working closely with DWP and BERR to develop the package of support for people facing redundancy and further details will be announced shortly.

Vocational Training: Finance

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills how much has been provided from each applicable funding stream for  (a) universities and  (b) further education colleges to enable people made redundant to re-train.

Si�n Simon: Universities are playing a central role in supporting businesses and individuals. Universities UK have recently published a brochure which summarises the help universities are offering to individuals and businesses during the downturn. These activities are being funded from existing budgets, and from the 120 million savings made by universities as a result of the reduction in VAT.
	Planned investment for adult participation in further education and skills will increase to 3.3 billion in 2009-10. The Government investment strategy underpinning this investment includes specific measures designed to help people who have been made redundant to retrain. This includes: providing more flexibility for colleges and providers in the use of funding for courses below level 2 (equivalent of five good GCSEs) to enable them to respond to demand from learners looking to get back into employment; and exploring ways to reward colleges and providers who deliver sustainable employment outcomes for learners.
	As announced in the pre-Budget report in November 2008, 158 million of European Social Funds will be available over the next three years, 79 million of which will be matched with LSC funding. This will help support people currently facing redundancy and those looking for work to retrain and develop their skills so they can quickly move back into sustainable employment. Details of the package of support will be announced shortly.

WOMEN AND EQUALITY

Departmental Furniture

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality how much was spent by the Government Equalities Office on furniture made by  (a) British firms,  (b) Remploy and  (c) overseas firms since it was established.

Maria Eagle: The Government Equalities Office has not made any purchases of furniture.

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality if she will make it her policy to ensure that those temporary and permanent employees at the same grade in the Government's Equalities Office who are paid at an hourly rate are paid at the same rate.

Maria Eagle: The Government Equalities Office has already adopted this policy and employs some temporary staff on fixed term contracts (typically between three and six months) at the same rate of pay as permanent employees in the same grade.
	Other temporary staff are employed from agencies for shorter periods. In these cases the GEO negotiates a rate for the job dependent upon the knowledge and experience available.

Homosexuality: Austria

Lynne Jones: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality if she will place in the Library a copy of the Government's submission to the European Court of Human Rights on rights for same-sex couples in Austria; and if she will make a statement.

Bridget Prentice: I have been asked to reply.
	I have placed in the Library a copy of the submissions made by the United Kingdom in the case of Schalk and Kopf  v. Austria.
	The main purpose of the UK intervention in this case is to argue that the right to marry under Article 12 of the European Convention on Human Rights does not require marriage to be made available to same-sex couples. This remains the Government's firmly held position.
	A further argument in this case relies on Article 14 (the prohibition on discrimination in the protection of the Convention rights) read with Article 8 (the right to respect for private and family life). These provisions have been held not to require states to provide formal legal status for same-sex relationships. The Government chose to introduce civil partnerships for reasons of social justice and equality, instead of being obliged to do so.
	As my noble friend Lord Bach has noted, we have agreed to reconsider the technical aspect of the intervention on the meaning of family life and article 8, and will clarify our position with the Court on that point.

BUSINESS, ENTERPRISE AND REGULATORY REFORM

Departmental Pay

Michael Ancram: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what bonuses were paid by his Department in 2007-08; to which members of staff; and for what purposes.

Patrick McFadden: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform awards non-consolidated bonuses in two formats:
	1. Special bonuses to recognise performance, in particularly, demanding tasks or situations. Staff in receipt of a special bonus may also receive an annual performance award.
	2. Annual performance awards paid to highly successful performers as part of the annual pay award.
	Based on the information available, the number of staff receiving these awards, and total amount of bonuses for which this information can be provided is in the following table.
	
		
			   Special bonus  Performance awards 
			  Financial year( 1)  Number of staff receiving  Total value ()  Number of staff receiving  Total value () 
			 2007-08(2) 1,238 693,386 1,065 (3)2,265,502 
			 (1) Financial year running from 1 April to 31 March. (2) In 2007-08, the total value of bonuses paid was approximately 1.5 per cent. of the total Department's paybill. (3) Includes staff who were transferred from DTI to DIUS as part of the June 2007 machinery of government changes as these staff received a DTI/BERR pay award in 2007. Does not include those staff transferred into BERR from Cabinet Office and the Department for Communities and Local Government as part of the June 2007 machinery of government changes as these staff received Cabinet Office and DCLG pay awards respectively in 2007.  Note: The special bonuses and performance awards for non-SCS staff are paid on a non-consolidated, non-pensionable basis and do not increase the Department's paybill costs each year. For the SCS, the Senior Salaries Review Body determines the level of expenditure to cover bonuses.

Welfare State: Regional Development Agencies

Rob Marris: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what responsibilities the regional development agencies will have under the proposals set out in the Raising Expectations White Paper; and if he will make a statement.

Si�n Simon: I have been asked to reply.
	The White Paper 'Raising Expectations: enabling the system to deliver', set out proposals to ensure that the needs of learners (young people and adults) and employers are met by a more responsive system. Responsibility for the planning, commissioning and funding for education and training for 16 to 19-year-olds will transfer to local authorities, supported by a new Young People's Learning Agency. For adults we propose to build on the demand led approach, including through the creation of a new Skills Funding Agency and strengthened advice and support services for adults and employers.
	As part of the changes identified in the Raising Expectations local authorities will work together in sub-regional groups to commission provision for 16 to 19-year-olds, developing a commissioning plan that will identify how learning will be commissioned. In addition to developing sub-regional groups, key players including: Regional Development Agencies; Government Offices; local authorities; and the new Young People's Learning Agency and Skills Funding Agency will come together in Regional Planning Groups. The role of the Regional Planning Group will be to scrutinise the local plans that have been developed to ensure they are coherent, can be funded within the regional budget and will deliver the 14-19 entitlement. The Regional Development Agencies will help to ensure that the plans for young people deliver what is needed by employers, taking account of the regional economic strategy and regional skill needs. Our assumption is that the Regional Development Agencies will co-chair the Regional Planning Group with local authorities.
	In respect of adult skills, the Skills Funding Agency will work with Regional Development Agencies and Jobcentre Plus to determine the regional skills strategy. Regional Development Agencies will also manage the new integrated brokerage service for employers that includes skills.
	More detail on the Skills Funding Agency, together with information on the roles and responsibilities of key players in the adult skills landscape, can be found in the recently published 'Adult Skills Reforms: An Update', accessible via the following link:
	http://www.dius.gov.uk/policy/raising_expectations.html
	More detail on the pre 19 proposals can be accessed via the following link:
	http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/publications/14-19nextsteps/

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Cancer

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many cases of  (a) pancreatic and  (b) liver cancer there were in each (i) primary care trust and (ii) strategic health authority area of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.

Kevin Brennan: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell dated 18 December 2008:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many cases of (a) pancreatic and (b) liver cancer there were in (i) each primary care trust and (ii) strategic health authority of England and Wales in each of the last 10 years.
	The number of newly diagnosed cases for each year from 1997 to 2006 (latest available year) for (i) each primary care trust and (ii) strategic health authority for England, and by local health board for Wales are given in Table 1 for (a) pancreatic cancer and Table 2 for (b) liver cancer; these have been placed in the House of Commons library.

Departmental Public Consultation

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on which occasions his Department has convened a citizens' jury or randomly drawn panel of people to aid the Department's policy making since 2000; whether the participants were paid in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Tom Watson: In respect of citizen's juries I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the right hon. Member for Horsham (Mr. Maude) on 5 December 2007,  Official Report, column 1344W.
	Information on the numbers of randomly drawn panels of people convened since 2000 is not collated centrally and is available only at disproportionate cost

HOME DEPARTMENT

Alcohol Disorder Zones

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police services and  (b) local authorities have issued a notice of proposal to designate an alcohol disorder zone.

Jacqui Smith: To date no police services or local authorities have issued a notice of proposal to the Home Office to designate an alcohol disorder zone.

Alcoholic Drinks: Licensing

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what effect completion of promotion and event risk assessment forms under the Licensing Act 2003 has had on levels of violence at live performances.

Alan Campbell: This form is not a requirement under the Licensing Act 2003, and the Home Office does not hold any data on this subject.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps she plans to take to increase the number of prosecutions brought for selling alcohol to a drunken person.

Alan Campbell: The majority of people who drink enjoy alcohol sensibly, but we are determined to take action to reduce the health and social harms caused by those who do not.
	The Government have recently announced actions to combat this problem. These include; a new mandatory code of practice to target the most irresponsible retail practices, a 3 million cash injection for CDRPs for enforcement activities in 198 areas. A further 1.5 million has been allocated to our priority areas where we are working closely with partnerships, making sure they make full use of all the powers available to them to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder.
	We have introduced new powers including alcohol disorder zones, directions to leave and expedited license reviews, plus we are encouraging greater use of existing powers such as designated public place orders to tackle alcohol-related crime and disorder.
	In addition a responsible alcohol sales campaign took place in November and December 2007 which focused on enforcing the law concerning the sale of alcohol to those persons who were drunk. The campaign took place over four weekends and involved 30 police force areas. This campaign is part of a sustained drive by police and trading standards, as well as the alcohol retail industry, to clamp down on irresponsible retailers.

Alcoholic Drinks: Sales

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of the impact on the deployment of police resources of the introduction of a more liberal licensing regime for alcohol sales.

Alan Campbell: A review of the Licensing Act 2003 was published in March 2008 and revealed a mixed picture. The change in opening hours has not led to the widespread problems some people feared. Overall, crime and alcohol consumption are down. However alcohol-related violence has increased in the early hours of the morning and some communities have seen a rise in disorder. Our main conclusion is that people are using the freedoms, but people are not sufficiently using the considerable powers granted by the Act to tackle problems, and that there is a need to rebalance action towards enforcement and crack down on irresponsible behaviour.
	Since the publication of the review, we have taken a number of actions. We have launched regional workshops for front-line practitioners, to ensure that they have the knowledge and confidence to use their existing powers under the Licensing Act. Two workshops have been held so far, with a further 11 scheduled to be held from January to March 2009.
	Additionally, we have announced that we will legislate for a new, mandatory code of practice. This will contain some compulsory national conditions, banning the most irresponsible practices and promotions which encourage people to drink excessively, or promote a binge-drinking culture. This will not affect the majority of businesses, small or large, who behave responsiblybut will target those that don't.
	Further, the Government are funding a 4.5 million enforcement campaign, in addition to existing resources from the police, local authorities, and others, focused on 40-50 priority areas and led by ACPO Commander Simon O'Brien. There is additional funding for the 20 priority PCT areas, and a 10 million investment in national awareness campaigns.

Animal Welfare: Prosecutions

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) arrests and  (b) prosecutions there have been for animal cruelty in each of the last five years.

Alan Campbell: The information requested on arrests is not collected centrally.
	The arrests collection held by the Home Office covers arrests for recorded crime (notifiable offences) only, broken down at a main offence group level, covering categories such as violence against the person and robbery.
	Offences of animal cruelty are summary offences which do not form a part of the arrests collection.
	Information provided by the Ministry of Justice on the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts for selected offences of animal cruelty in England and Wales from 2003 to 2007, the latest available, are shown in the following table.
	The statistics relate to persons for whom these offences were the principal offences for which they were dealt with. When a defendant has been found guilty of two or more offences the principal offence is the offence for which the heaviest penalty is imposed. Where the same disposal is imposed for two or more offences, the offence selected is the offence for which the statutory maximum penalty is the most severe.
	
		
			  The number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates' courts for offences of animal cruelty, England and Wales, 2003-07( 1, 2) 
			   Number 
			  2003 1,106 
			  2004 1,117 
			  2005 1,227 
			  2006 1,164 
			  2007 1,206 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source:  Office for Criminal Justice Reform - Evidence and Analysis Unit.

Anti-social Behaviour

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many local authorities in England and Wales have applied to make  (a) an alcohol disorder zone,  (b) a section 30 dispersal order and  (c) a designated public place order in each year since each was introduced.

Jacqui Smith: There are currently no alcohol disorder zones (ADZs) that the Home Office have been notified of. ADZs were only commenced on 5 June 2008 and require a number of steps to be taken before a full ADZ is implemented.
	Between January 2004 and 31 March 2006, the police have used the power in section 30 of the Anti-social Behaviour Act 2003 to disperse unruly groups in over 1,000 designated areas. Figures are not available broken down by year. Figures for 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2008 are due to be published shortly.
	The Home Office has been informed that 654 designated public place orders (DPPO)s have been implemented throughout England and Wales. This figure is broken down by year as follows; three in 2001, 68 in 2002, 79 in 2003, 99 in 2004,103 in 2005, 133 in 2006, 101 in 2007 and 68 in 2008.
	A full list of the councils which have implemented the orders can be accessed at the following internet link which includes commencement date.
	http://www.crimereduction.homeoffice.gov.uk/alcoholorders/alcoholorders09.htm

Assets Recovery Agency: Finance

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the budget was of the Assets Recovery Agency in its final year of operation.

Alan Campbell: The total financial resource allocation for the Assets Recovery Agency for 2007-08 was 18.007 million. This comprised a base budget 15.55 million and 2.45 million rolled forward using end-year flexibility from previous years.

Criminal Records Bureau

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people who had already obtained Criminal Records Bureau clearance were required to apply for a further clearance after changing jobs in each of the last five years.

Meg Hillier: Disclosures are primarily designed to be used by an employer at the point of recruitment for a particular position. Ultimately it is for each employer, and not the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB), to decide whether a new disclosure should be applied for, bearing in mind their legal and other responsibilities and subject to any statutory requirements.
	There are a number of reasons why an employer may not wish to accept a disclosure that has been processed for a previous employment position, including:
	The disclosure may not be at the right level (there are two different levels of CRB check; standard  enhanced);
	Information revealed through a CRB check reflects the information that was available at the time of its issuea person may have committed a crime in the intervening period;
	The disclosure process may also include a search to establish whether an individual is subject to a direction under Section 142 of the Education Act 2002, or a check against the Protection of Children Act and Protection of Vulnerable Adults PoCA and PoVA) lists.
	The CRB does not hold data to show the number of people who are required to apply for a further clearance after changing jobs.

Criminal Records Bureau

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  if she will estimate the financial effects on the economy from effects on the length of time taken to complete Criminal Records Bureau checks in the last 12 months;
	(2)  if she will estimate the average financial effects on individual employees caused by the length of time taken to complete Criminal Records Bureau checks in the last 12 months.

Meg Hillier: The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) does not record the financial loss to the economy or individual employees arising from delays in the completion of CRB checks and therefore this information is not available.
	The CRB cannot assess the financial impact of any delays within its service for the following reasons:
	Not all individuals checked will be employed.
	Not all individuals that experience a delay will request an ex gratia payment.
	The CRB is unaware of what other pre-recruitment checks are being undertaken by employers and whether these are completed prior to the issue of a disclosure.
	The CRB has no way to assess the financial impact a new employee would make in any industry.
	Delays in the CRB Disclosure Service do not disbar an individual from being employed under supervision.
	The Police Act gives the employer the eligibility to apply for a disclosure for a potentially new employee but does not state that there is a requirement to do so.
	The CRB operates to a set of published service standards (PSS) which include to issue 90 per cent. of standard disclosures within 10 days and 90 per cent. of enhanced disclosures within 28 days. In the financial year 2007-08, the CRB exceeded these targets, issuing 99.7 per cent. of standard disclosures within 10 days and 93.4 per cent. of enhanced disclosures within 28 days.

Criminal Records Bureau: Checks

Justine Greening: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what compensation scheme is in place for  (a) teachers and  (b) other educational staff who require Criminal Records Bureau clearance who have experienced loss of earnings while their application for a criminal record check was under consideration by the Criminal Records Bureau in each of the last four years;
	(2)  how much compensation has been paid by the Criminal Records Bureau for delays in processing criminal record checks to  (a) applicants,  (b) employers and  (c) others in each of the last four years; to which types of disclosures such payments related; and how many (i) applicants and (ii) employers were so compensated in each year.

Meg Hillier: holding answer 17 December 2008
	The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) does not pay compensation, the payments CRB makes are on an ex gratia basis, as an award to reinforce the sincerity of an apology.
	The CRB is bound by the Treasury Guidelines and must endeavour to put all individuals, not just those working within the education sector, back into the position they would have been but for any maladministration on the part of the Bureau. This scheme is called a redress scheme. The CRB award redress if they have not followed their procedures and it has caused the applicant a loss.
	The number of cases requesting redress and the amount paid by the CRB to applicants for delays in processing CRB checks in each of the last four years is detailed in the following table.
	
		
			   Cases received requesting redress  Amount paid in redress () 
			 2005 513 111,995.56 
			 2006 559 52,733.97 
			 2007 571 254,590.07 
			 2008 (up to 30th November 2008) 823 154,420.55 
		
	
	The CRB does not provide redress to employers or organisations registered with them to verify disclosure applications.
	The CRB does not separately record the number of individuals that have received redress or the number of each type of disclosure the redress payments were made against. To obtain this level of detailed analysis would involve manually re-processing source records and this could be done only at a disproportionate cost.

Criminal Records Bureau: Complaints

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many complaints the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) received on the time taken to process applications for CRB clearance in  (a) the last 12 months and  (b) the last five years.

Meg Hillier: The Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) received 3,733 complaints on the time taken to process applications in the last 12 months up until November 2008. During this same period the CRB issued 3.6 million disclosures.
	The CRB did not separately record delay complaints before April 2007. To obtain this level of detailed analysis would involve manually re- processing source records and this could be done only at a disproportionate cost.
	The CRB endeavours to issue both standard and enhanced disclosures in the shortest time possible. Some disclosures do take a matter of days, while others can take considerably longer. There are a number of factors that can affect the timely completion of checks, including but not restricted to the timely submission of application forms by registered bodies to the CRB; the accurate completion of the application form; the clarity of the information provided; the existence on conviction or non-conviction information and the operational effectiveness of the disclosure units at the police forces involved in the enhanced disclosure process.

Domestic Violence

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many offences of  (a) sexual assault and  (b) domestic violence were recorded in each month of (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008.

Jacqui Smith: holding answer 15 December 2008
	Police forces in England and Wales are asked to provide monthly cumulative data for use in the Home Office's quarterly and annual crime statistics publication. However, the validation processes relate to quarterly data rather than monthly and therefore quarterly data for all sexual offences are given in the table. Quarterly data for July to September 2008 will be published on 22 January 2009.
	From the information collected centrally on recorded crime, it is not possible to identify recorded cases of domestic violence. Such offences are not specifically defined by law and details of the individual circumstances of offences are not collected.
	Domestic violence statistics are based on British Crime Survey interviews, which include crimes not reported to the police.
	
		
			  Sexual offences recorded by the police in England and Wales 
			  Quarter  Number of offences 
			 January to March 2007 12,732 
			 April to June 2007 14,129 
			 July to September 2007 14,361 
			 October to December 2007 12,067 
			 January to March 2008 12,983 
			 April to June 2008 14,307

Domestic Violence

James Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her policy is on tackling domestic violence; and if she will make a statement.

Alan Campbell: The Government are committed to tackling domestic violence. We have a cross-Government National Domestic Violence Delivery Plan which provides a strategic framework to address domestic violence to ensure that perpetrators are brought to justice while providing the best possible help for victims and their children.
	The Plan covers specific initiatives such as the expansion of the Specialist Domestic Violence Court programme; the roll-out nationally of multi-agency risk assessment conferences and supporting the establishment of independent domestic violence advisers.

Domestic Violence Crime and Victims Act 2004

Edward Timpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  when she expects to commence section 12 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004;
	(2)  for what reason section 12 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 has not been implemented.

Alan Campbell: holding answer 16 December 2008
	We do not have a commencement date for S12 of the Domestic Violence, Crime and Victims Act 2004 but are still committed to its implementation and continue to look at ways to take this forward across Government.

Driving Under Influence

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many breathalyser tests were carried out in each year since 1997, broken down by  (a) month,  (b) region,  (c) age of the driver and  (d) result.

Alan Campbell: The available information is given in the following tables. Information on breathalyser tests broken down by the age of the driver is not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Screening breath tests by month, England and Wales 1997 to 2006 
			  Total tests 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004( 2)  2005( 1)  2006( 1) 
			 January 65,300 64,700 66,700 65,000 54,100 45,700 47,000 46,200 48,400 50,200 
			 February 52,400 53,400 55,900 53,400 44,300 43,500 41,800 40,300 40,900 41,000 
			 March 55,000 55,600 57,300 51,900 46,500 43,200 41,300 40,600 42,500 40,200 
			 April 53,600 57,200 56,400 54,600 49,900 43,200 38,800 41,800 41,700 40,100 
			 May 58,600 58,500 55,500 53,300 52,000 44,400 40,100 43,200 44,700 42,100 
			 June 57,000 58,200 55,700 48,600 44,200 43,300 40,400 44,600 44,200 55,300 
			 July 66,900 61,200 57,800 53,100 43,300 40,800 39,400 46,000 44,700 44,600 
			 August 64,200 66,800 68,400 66,500 52,700 45,400 44,200 45,000 48,100 43,400 
			 September 56,300 59,600 54,500 48,500 44,000 41,500 39,000 45,400 41,500 39,200 
			 October 60,200 68,200 56,500 50,800 42,200 43,300 41,100 45,900 51,700 42,300 
			 November 67,900 69,500 59,500 61,300 51,600 46,700 44,500 52,000 52,100 45,200 
			 December 142,900 142,500 120,300 107,600 99,100 89,100 76,800 86,800 106,800 118,000 
			 Total(4) 800,300 815,500 764,500 714,800 623,900 570,200 534,300 (3)578,100 607,400 601,600 
			 (1) Following a comparison between the number of positive breath tests reported by each police force in 2006, and the number of court proceedings for drink/driving related offences, it became clear that there was under-reporting in a number of forces. As a result Essex, Humberside, Lancashire, Norfolk, Northumbria, Staffordshire, Dyfed-Powys, Gwent and South Wales court proceedings figures have been substituted for the positive breath test figures. Similar adjustments were also made to various forces data between 1998 and 2005. (2) Total revised since publication, monthly revisions are not available so original 2004 data are provided. (3) Amended from original publication (4) Figures may not match totals due to rounding. 
		
	
	
		
			  Screening breath tests by region and year, 1997 to 2006 
			  Region  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004( 2)  2005  2006( 1) 
			 East of England 82,700 87,600 74,300 67,600 59,000 53,800 54,000 68,100 84,600 73,600 
			 North West 108,300 102,900 86,800 77,500 59,800 57,700 54,000 63,700 75,500 94,600 
			 North East 47,800 53,800 53,800 46,800 42,800 32,300 27,400 24,000 27,800 26,100 
			 West Midlands 63,400 67,300 52,300 39,900 31,800 29,100 28,200 34,300 34,800 34,700 
			 East Midlands 83,500 95,400 105,000 97,100 82,800 70,500 66,900 69,100 56,600 48,100 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 54,500 53,700 51,100 53,600 50,100 47,100 41,100 37,600 44,100 48,400 
			 London 141,500 114,700 101,500 94,900 66,200 58,600 57,200 62,200 68,600 66,600 
			 South West 57,100 61,900 58,200 55,800 54,800 53,300 58,400 59,400 56,600 56,900 
			 South East 104,500 117,800 124,200 131,400 128,700 119,500 104,200 110,500 111,700 107,000 
			
			 Wales 57,100 60,500 57,100 50,300 47,800 48,200 43,000 49,200 47,000 45,700 
			
			 Total(3) 800,300 815,500 764,500 714,800 623,900 570,200 534,300 578,100 607,400 601,600 
			 (1) Following a comparison between the number of positive breath tests reported by each police force in 2006, and the number of court proceedings for drink/driving related offences, it became clear that there was under-reporting in a number of forces. As a result Essex, Humberside, Lancashire, Norfolk, Northumbria, Staffordshire, Dyfed-Powys, Gwent and South Wales court proceedings figures have been substituted for the positive breath test figures. Similar adjustments were also made to various forces data between 1998 and 2005. (2) Total figure amended from original publication. (3) Figures may not match totals due to rounding. 
		
	
	
		
			  Total number of breath tests by result, England and Wales 
			   Total Tests  Total number positive/refused 
			 1997 800,300 103,500 
			 1998 815,500 102,300 
			 1999 764,500 94,100 
			 2000 714,800 94,600 
			 2001 623,900 99,500 
			 2002 570,200 103,500 
			 2003 534,300 106,300 
			 2004(1) 578,100 103,000 
			 2005 607,400 104,300 
			 2006 601,600 105,700 
			 (1 )Following a comparison between the number of positive breath tests reported by each police force in 2006, and the number of court proceedings for drink/driving related offences, it became clear that there was under-reporting in a number of forces. As a result Essex, Humberside, Lancashire, Norfolk, Northumbria, Staffordshire, Dyfed-Powys, Gwent and South Wales court proceedings figures have been substituted for the positive breath test figures. Similar adjustments were also made to various forces data between 1998 and 2005.  Note: Figure amended since original publication.

Drugs: Crime

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the  (a) number of acquisitive crimes committed by dependent drug users,  (b) the monetary value of goods so stolen and  (c) the cost to the public purse arising from police time spent investigating such thefts in the last 12 months for which figures are available.

Jacqui Smith: (a) No estimate has been made of the total number of acquisitive crimes committed by dependent drug users, although research evidence does indicate that a large proportion of acquisitive crime is related to drug use. It has been estimated that between a third and a half of all acquisitive crime is drug-related (Source: Drug Strategy 2008).
	Home Office research shows that a cohort of individuals identified as drug mis-users (testing positive for heroin, cocaine/crack cocaine) following arrest or charge through the Drug Interventions Programme had an average of 8.8 convictions in the three-year period prior to their positive test. (Source: Home Office Research Report 2, Table 6). It is unknown how many of these individuals were drug dependent. It is also unknown how many of the prior convictions were for acquisitive offending.
	Other Home Office research shows that where arrestees report (at least) weekly use of heroin and/or crack cocaine, 81 per cent. of them reported committing acquisitive crimes in the year prior to interview, compared to 30 per cent. of non-heroin and/or crack cocaine users. (Source: Table 5.4 Home Office Statistical Bulletin 12/07).
	 (b) The total value of monetary goods stolen by dependent drug users is not known.
	 (c) There is no estimate of the cost arising from police time spent investigating such thefts, although estimates are available of the costs to the CJS of Class A drug related crime. The total cost to the criminal justice system was estimated to be around 3.5 billion for the year 2003-04. (Source: Table 3.3, Home Office Online Report 16/06.)
	I will arrange for a copy of the documents referred to be sent to you and for a copy to be placed in the Library of both Houses. They can also be located at the following:
	 Drug Strategy 2008
	http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/drug-strategy/overview/
	 Home Office Research Report 2
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/horr02c.pdf
	 Home Office Online report 16/06
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/rdsolr1606.pdf
	 Home Office Statistical Bulletin 12/07
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb1207.pdf.

Drugs: Crime

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the level of acquisitive crime associated with drug addiction in each of the last five years; and if she will make a statement.

Jacqui Smith: No annual estimates are made of the levels of acquisitive crime associated with drug addiction.
	It is broadly estimated that between a third and half of acquisitive crime is drug-related(1). Recent Home Office research has found that 81 per cent. of arrestees who used heroin and/or crack cocaine (HC) on at least a weekly basis reported committing acquisitive crimes in the 12 months prior to arrest, in comparison to only 30 per cent. of those arrestees who did not take HC weekly(2). Around two-fifths (39 per cent.) of drug treatment seekers reported committing an acquisitive crime in the four weeks prior to interview. This figure rose in the case of heroin and crack cocaine users, with 55 per cent. reporting that they committed an acquisitive crime in the four weeks before interview(3).
	I will arrange for a copy of the documents referred to be sent to you and for a copy to be placed in the Library of both Houses. They can also be located at the following:
	 Drug Strategy 2008:
	http://drugs.homeoffice.gov.uk/drug-strategy/overview/
	 Home Office Statistical Bulletin 12/07:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/hosb1207.pdf
	 Home Office Research Report 3:
	http://rds.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/horr03b.pdf
	 Sources:
	(1) Drug Strategy 2008.
	(2) Table 5.4 Home Office Statistical Bulletin 12/07.
	(3) Home Office Research Report 3.

Drugs: Crime

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether her Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated research on the relationships between drug dependency, acquisitive crime and the street price of drugs.

Jacqui Smith: The Department has not commissioned or evaluated research on the relationship between drug dependency, acquisitive crime and the street price of drugs.
	The Department has commissioned a broad range of research which provides insight into the relationship between drug dependency and offending, and this research is routinely made available on the departmental website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/horrpubs.html

Drugs: Crime Prevention

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if she will publish the value for money study of drug policy expenditure undertaken as part of the 2007 drug strategy review.

Jacqui Smith: The most recently available evidence on illicit drug use and the effectiveness of a range of interventions, which was drawn on in the development of the Drug Strategy is set out in an appendix to the strategy document itself.
	The Home Office has no current plans to publish the value for money analysis which helped to inform the development of the new drug strategy.

Dungavel House Immigration Removal Centre

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) families,  (b) children under the age of 18 and  (c) people over the age of 18 years were detained within Dungavel detention centre between 1 December and 31 December in each of the last five years.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 15 December 2008
	The number of families and children detained over the last five years between 1 December and 31 December are as follows:
	2003: 16 families with 20 children
	2004: 6 families with 10 children
	2005: 6 families with 4 children
	2006: 13 families with 28 children
	2007: 3 families with 8 children
	The number of individuals aged over 18 years detained between 1 December and 31 December over the last five years are as follows:
	
		
			   Number of individuals 
			 2003 (1) 
			 2004 (1) 
			 2005 99 
			 2006 143 
			 2007 161 
			 (1) Data not available.

Human Trafficking

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much the Government spent on  (a) Operation Pentameter 1 and  (b) Operation Pentameter 2.

Jacqui Smith: We provided 100,000 to further support the victim care arrangements under Operation Pentameter 2. All other costs of both operations were met from existing budgets.
	Outside of these operations we have, to date invested 5.8 million in the Poppy Project over the last six years to provide high level specialist support for victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation, and have committed a further 4.9 million over the next three years to support the work of the UK human trafficking centre.

Human Trafficking: Prostitution

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate she has made of the number of people who have been trafficked who are  (a) in the UK and  (b) working as prostitutes; on what research her estimate is based; and if she will place in the Library a copy of the research.

Alan Campbell: The nature of the crime makes it difficult to provide an accurate assessment of the scale of the problem faced by the United Kingdom.
	The latest estimate is that at any one time in 2003 there were up to 4,000 women in the UK who had been trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. We have no estimate of the scale of trafficking for non sexual purposes. This estimate was part of an internal Home Office document on the social and economic costs of organised crime.
	The United Kingdom Human Trafficking and the Serious Organised Crime Agency continue to improve our knowledge of this issue and the analysis of the outcomes of Operation Pentameter 2 will further inform this work.

Identity Cards

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures will be introduced to secure the identity of  (a) people under 16 years and  (b) individuals who will not be enrolled on the National Identity Register.

Jacqui Smith: The Identity and Passport Service already holds securely identity information on some 43 million people of all ages issued with passports within the United Kingdom. It will continue to hold securely the identity information of people under 16 years of age who hold a passport and of adults who hold a passport but have not yet enrolled on the National Identity Register.

Identity Cards: Internet

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  with reference to the Introducing the National Identity Scheme guide of 6 November 2008, what mechanism will exist to allow the public to check their core identity information on the internet;
	(2)  with reference to the Introducing the National Identity Scheme guide of 6 November 2008, how will the security of the system to allow identity card holders to check their core identity information online be protected;
	(3)  with reference to the Introducing the National Identity Scheme guide of 6 November 2008, what estimate has been made of the cost of providing the system to allow identity card holders to check their core identity information online.

Jacqui Smith: It is intended that a web-based service will be introduced as identity cards begin to be introduced in high volumes to permit an individual to check their core identity information on the National Identity Register. This will be subject to secure remote authentication of the individual in question so that we are assured that it is the individual in question that is making the request. We are currently investigating the possible alternatives available to achieve this but no final method has been decided. The system will also need to achieve security accreditation in accordance with Cabinet Office guidelines before it can start operation.
	The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) is currently in the process of procuring the system that will enable the establishment of this service. This process will involve the creation of varying systems design from participating bidders on the basis of outcome-based requirements provided by IPS. They can propose a number of different technical and security solutions to deliver such requirements. As a result, the detailed security measures that will be put in place in order to meet the appropriate security standards will be dependent on the final design proposed by the successful bidder. It is not possible to identify the specific cost of providing this service separately at this point in time.

Identity Cards: Public Opinion

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many items of correspondence her Department has received on identity cards and the national identity database in the last two years; and how many expressed  (a) support for and  (b) opposition to the Government's policy;
	(2)  how many written requests her Department has received from persons expressing the desire to apply early for an identity card.

Jacqui Smith: The Identity and Passport Services has received 3,073 items of correspondence regarding the identity cards and the National Identity Register from 1 November 2006 to 31 October 2008.
	Correspondence received regarding the national identity scheme is not recorded as being in support of or in opposition to identity cards.
	The volume of correspondence on the national identity scheme is recorded each month. The detail of the correspondence received is recorded by theme. The list of themes is not exhaustive and can be added to as required. One letter can generate multiple themes.
	From October 2007 to September 2008, the number one theme every month, accounting for by far the most common subject matter, has been Wants an ID Card. The Identity and Passport Services received l,142 items of correspondence recorded under the theme of wants an identity card from 1 November 2006 to 31 October 2008.

Independent Safeguarding Authority

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how the Independent Safeguarding Authority is funded; what considerations underlay the appointment of the chair, chief executive and board of the authority; what work it has undertaken to date; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Hillier: The Independent Safeguarding Authority is a non-departmental public body established by the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (as the Independent Barring Board), sponsored by the Home Office and funded by grant-in-aid.
	The chair, Board Members and Chief Executive of the Authority were all recruited by open competition. The Chair and Members must meet the requirements set out in Schedule 1 of the 2006 Act. Requirements for the post of Chief Executive included significant senior management experience and knowledge of safeguarding issues.
	In addition to the work required to establish the new Authority, recruit and transfer staff and establish a headquarters building, the Authority at present provides advice to the Secretary of State in accordance with paragraph 1 of Schedule 8 to the 2006 Act.

Metropolitan Police: Human Trafficking

Damian Green: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, columns 2275-6W, on Metropolitan Police: human trafficking, if she will place in the Library a copy of all recent correspondence between her Department, the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Metropolitan Police related to the funding of the Metropolitan Police human trafficking team.

Alan Campbell: The MPS were informed by ACPO of the grant available for the current financial year in early 2008. The MPS have found themselves unable to mainstream this work into their budget as expected. In the light of this and the availability of some money from their existing budget, we have agreed, exceptionally to provide funding which will enable the MPS to maintain the trafficking team for 2009-10. This funding has been offered on the basis that the full cost of the trafficking team is met solely from the MPS budget as from 1 April 2010.

Police: Chelmsford

Simon Burns: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) police officers,  (b) police constables,  (c) police sergeants and  (d) police community support offices were working in West Chelmsford constituency in (i) 2007 and (ii) 2008 to date.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 16 December 2008
	Police strength data are not collected by parliamentary constituency areas. Data are collected at the Basic Command Unit (BCU) level and at the force level. These data are published annually in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin Police Service Strength, England and Wales, copies of which are available online and in the Library of the House.
	Data for the Central BCU of Essex police are not collected by police rank and so data for all officers and for PCSOs are given in Table 1.
	Data for Essex police for the police ranks requested and for PCSOs are given in Table 2.
	
		
			  Table 1: Police officer and PCSO strength for the Basic Command Unit of Essex Central as at 31 March in the years given( 1) 
			   2007  2008 
			 Police officers (all ranks) 506 517 
			 Police community support officers 86 100 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Police officer strength and PCSO strength for Essex police force as at 31 March in the years given( 1) 
			   2007  2008 
			 Police officers (all ranks) 3,341 3,385 
			 Police constables 2,618 2,663 
			 Police sergeants 505 499 
			 Police community support officers 388 435 
			 (1) These figures are based on full-time equivalents that have been rounded to the nearest whole number, due to rounding there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of constituent items. Figures include those officers on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what  (a) discussions she has had with and  (b) representations she has received from Essex Police on areas of budgetary (i) overspend and (ii) underspend by Essex police force since January 2008; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: We have not received any representations nor held any discussions with Essex police on overspends and underspends.
	Decisions on the distribution of resources are matters for the chief constable of Essex and the police authority. It is a legal requirement for the police authority to set balanced budgets taking into account any use of reserves.

Police: Essex

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment she has made of levels of job satisfaction of officers in Essex Police in each year since 1997; what assessment she has made of trends in such levels; and if she will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: We do not undertake such assessments. It is a matter for the chief constable to consider whether they are appropriate.

Police: Firearms

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many authorised firearms officers there were in England in each year since 2005;
	(2)  how many authorised firearms officers were recruited in England in each year since 2005.

Jacqui Smith: Details of the number of authorised firearms officers in England and Wales are published on an annual basis and can be found on the Home Office website at:
	http://police.homeoffice.gov.uk/publications/operational-policing/police-firearms-statistics-06-1
	Figures for the number of authorised firearms officers recruited every year are not collected separately.

Prostitution

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she plans to hold a public consultation on the proposals contained in her Department's review Tackling the Demand for Prostitution.

Alan Campbell: The Review of Tackling the Demand for Prostitution engaged with key stakeholders and practitioners, including the Police and the Crown Prosecution Service as well as a variety of organisations that provide support to individuals involved in prostitution, and considered a range of evidence from a number of sources. There are no plans to conduct a public consultation on the recommendations of the review.

Prostitution

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what estimate she has made of the average age of people working as prostitutes; on what research that estimate is based; and if she will place in the Library a copy of that research;
	(2)  what estimate she has made of the number of prostitutes working in the UK who are  (a) women,  (b) men,  (c) under the age of 16,  (d) suffering from a drug addiction,  (e) homeless,  (f) supporting dependants and  (e) working for another person's gain; on what research each estimate is based; and if she will place in the Library a copy of that research.

Alan Campbell: This information is not available.

Security

Dai Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which sectors of industry have sites protected by armed police.

Vernon Coaker: We do not comment on the security arrangements in place either at sites or in industry sectors. However, I can assure you that security in all sectors of industry is kept under review by the Government and police in co-operation with the relevant companies and organisations.

Serious Organised Crime Agency: Assets Recovery Agency

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost of  (a) abolishing the Assets Recovery Agency and  (b) merging the Agency's functions with those of the (i) Serious Organised Crime Agency and (ii) National Policing Improvement Agency has been; and what estimate she has made of the effect on public expenditure resulting from these changes.

Alan Campbell: The Assets Recovery Agency (ARA) incurred costs of 725,000 which were attributable to the merger with the Serious Organised Crime Agency and the National Policing Improvement Agency. The costs to the National Policing Improvement Agency are included in ARA's costs. The Serious Organised Crime Agency incurred costs of 685,000. As the merger only took effect from 1 April 2008, no estimate of annual savings is currently available.

Serious Organised Crime Agency: National Policing Improvement Agency

Owen Paterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes were made to the funding allocated to  (a) the Serious and Organised Crime Agency and  (b) the National Policing Improvement Agency as a result of the merger with elements of the Assets Recovery Agency.

Alan Campbell: A total of 13.795 million of the Assets Recovery Agency's base budget of 15.55 million was transferred to the Serious Organised Crime Agency with effect from 1 April 2008. The remaining 1.705 million was transferred to the National Policing Improvement Agency.

Sexual Offences

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many registered sex offenders in England and Wales are currently recorded as having their whereabouts unknown.

Jacqui Smith: This information is not held centrally.

Terrorism: India

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether she has had discussions with her Indian counterpart on the implications of the terrorist attacks in Mumbai for the national security of the UK and India.

Vernon Coaker: I have not had any direct discussions with my Indian counterpart since the horrific attacks in Mumbai. However, discussions on the terrorist attacks in Mumbai were the focal point of the Prime Minister's visit to India on 13-14 December. During the course of that visit the Prime Minister offered to the Indian Government any help with the investigations that we can give, and discussed with them how we can work more closely together to tackle terrorism and its causes. As part of this the Prime Minister agreed a programme of work with India including work to improve aviation security, and work to improve the security of major sporting events such as the Commonwealth games in New Delhi in 2010, and the Olympic games in London in 2012.

Thames Valley Police

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many crimes were reported in the Thames Valley police force area in each of the last 10 years; and what the detection rate was in each such year.

Alan Campbell: The available information relates to offences recorded and detected and is given in the following tables. Non-sanction detections that contribute to detection rates have fallen in recent years reflecting a significant shift by many forces away from recording detections of crime where no further action is taken. For this reason overall detection rates over time are not fully comparable.
	From 1 April 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed to a very limited set of circumstances.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of offences and the detection rate for offences recorded in Thames Valley1998-99 to 2001-02 
			  Period  Number of offences  Detection rate (percentage) 
			 1998-99 176,477 25 
			 1999-2000(1) 191,875 20 
			 2000-01 187,989 22 
			 2001-02 196,980 24 
			 (1) Revised detections guidance was implemented on 1 April 1999. The new instructions provided more precise and rigorous criteria for recording a detection with the underlying emphasis on the successful result of a police investigation. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of offences and the detection rate for offences recorded in Thames Valley2002-03 to 2007-08 
			  Period  Number of offences  Detection rate (percentage) 
			 2002-03 208,523 25 
			 2003-04 210,256 23 
			 2004-05 205,273 26 
			 2005-06 201,412 28 
			 2006-07 211,325 25 
			 2007-08 196,008 25 
			  Note: The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable.

Thames Valley Police

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) burglaries,  (b) violent crimes and  (c) thefts were reported in the Thames Valley police force area in each of the last 10 years; and what the detection rate was in each such year.

Alan Campbell: The available information is given in the following tables. A number of changes have been made to recorded crime in response to suggestions in the two reviews of crime statistics. One such change is that the term 'violent crime' is no longer used in connection with the recorded crime statistics and we now provide figures for violence against the person.
	Non-sanction detections that contribute to detection rates have fallen in recent years reflecting a significant shift by many forces away from recording detections of crime where no further action is taken. For this reason overall detection rates over time are not fully comparable.
	From 1 April 2007 the rules governing recording of non-sanction detections were revised to reduce the scope within which they can be claimed to a very limited set of circumstances.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of offences and the detection rate for offences recorded in Thames Valley  1998-99 to 2001-02 
			   Burglary  Violence against the person  Theft offences 
			  Period  Number of offences  Detection rate (percentage)  Number of offences  Detection rate (percentage)  Number of offences  Detection rate (percentage) 
			 1998-99 30,735 22 10,784 76 89,616 18 
			 1999-2-000(1) 31,185 12 13,870 68 96,123 14 
			 2000-01 27,756 12 14,797 71 91,582 16 
			 2001-02 27,798 17 16,646 70 94,964 18 
			 (1) Revised detections guidance was implemented on 1 April 1999. The new instructions provided more precise and rigorous criteria for recording a detection with the underlying emphasis on the successful result of a police investigation. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of offences and the detection rate for offences recorded in Thames Valley2002-03 to 2007-08 
			   Burglary  Violence against the person  Theft offences 
			  Period  Number of offences  Detection rate (percentage)  Number of offences  Detection rate (percentage)  Number of offences  Detection rate (percentage) 
			 2002-03 29,432 15 25,326 61 93,639 18 
			 2003-04 30,076 13 28,588 51 90,256 16 
			 2004-05 25,466 14 34,223 52 84,502 18 
			 2005-06 24,771 14 35,987 59 80,488 17 
			 2006-07 24,085 13 41,422 49 79,682 15 
			 2007-08 22,353 9 42,281 45 72,503 16 
			  Note: The National Crime Recording Standard was introduced on 1 April 2002. Figures before and after that date are not directly comparable.

HEALTH

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many hospital admissions in respect of diagnosis code  (a) F10,  (b) K70 and  (c) T51 there were in each (i) NHS primary care trust area and (ii) NHS region in (A) 1997, (B) 2001, (C) 2005 and (D) the most recent year for which figures are available, broken down by age group of patient admitted; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: The information has been placed in the Library.

Billing

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many organisations his Department has contacted asking them to pay suppliers within 10 days of receiving an invoice.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department has contacted 318 organisations to alert them to the Government's commitment to paying suppliers within 10 days.

Bisphenol A

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what steps his Department has taken to discourage the use of food and drinks packaging containing bisphenol A;
	(2)  what recent assessment his Department has made of the safety of food and drinks packaging containing bisphenol A.

Dawn Primarolo: The Food Standards Agency has been working closely with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to ensure that the safety of bisphenol A (BPA) is kept under review. EFSA last reviewed the safety of BPA in July this year taking into account recent data from North America. They reiterated their conclusions from 2006 establishing a tolerable daily intake for consumers of 0.05 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight per day. Monitoring data from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has found that the level of BPA that UK consumers are exposed to is well below this level. The FSA has nevertheless explored with the packaging industry the possibility of developing alternatives to BPA. However, this is a long-term project which is likely to take several years to complete to ensure any alternatives maintain food safety.

Carbon Monoxide: Poisoning

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to  (a) raise awareness of and  (b) prevent further deaths from carbon monoxide poisoning.

Dawn Primarolo: The Department is committed to raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning among the public and medical profession and to help prevent deaths and injuries caused by CO poisoning.
	The Department's 'Think CO' awareness campaign, which supported the national 'carbon monoxide awareness week' on 17-23 November 2008, urged general practitioners, accident and emergency consultants and community nurses to 'Think CO' when patients present with specific symptoms.
	This included an updated joint letter from the chief medical officer, Liam Donaldson, and chief nursing officer, Christine Beasley, which was sent to every general practitioner and emergency physician in England, with an updated national health service public information leaflet. A wide range of other key stakeholders were also sent these resources. A diagnostic flowchart is also being prepared by the Health Protection Agency.
	The letter and NHS leaflet are available at:
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Aboutus/Ministersand DepartmentLeaders/ChiefMedicalOfficer/CMOLetters/index.htm
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_090124
	Copies have been placed in the Library.
	The December 2008 CMO winter update, which is sent to all doctors registered with the General Medical Council in England, also highlighted the 'Think CO' campaign and the need to raise awareness and consider CO in differential diagnoses. This is available at:
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Lettersandcirculars/CMOupdate/index.htm
	A copy has been placed in the Library.
	Other steps include supporting patient groups with Section 64 grants, including CO advice in various departmental publications and the commissioning of research.

Children's Health Strategy

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  when he plans to publish the Children's Health Strategy;
	(2)  what proposals relating to children's palliative care will feature in the Children's Health Strategy.

Ann Keen: Children, families and stakeholders have been engaged in developing the strategy over the summer, and the proposals are being aligned with other activity and recommendations from key reviews such as the CAMHS review. We expect to be in a position to publish the Child Health Strategy soon. Addressing the needs of disabled and terminally ill children will be part of this strategy.

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much has been spent on  (a) cognitive behavioural treatment,  (b) aerobic exercise and  (c) mitochondrial testing for patients diagnosed with myalgic encephalopathy/chronic fatigue syndrome in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: Information on the cost of providing treatment for specific diagnosed conditions, such as chronic fatigue syndrome/myalgic encephalomyelitis is not collected.

Clostridium

Nick Hurd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidelines exist for the isolation of patients being checked for C. difficile infection before a diagnosis has been reached.

Ann Keen: Guidelines for the Prevention and Management of Clostridium, difficile infection by a Department of Health/Public Health Laboratory Service Joint Working Group were published in 1994. These guidelines advise that patients with diarrhoea and suspected of infection should be isolated. The guidelines are available on the Health Protection Agency (HPA) website, link:
	http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAwebPageHPAweb AutoListName/Page/1179745281238?p=1179745281238
	A copy has been placed in the Library.
	This guidance is currently being reviewed and the new version will be published shortly.
	Further detail on isolation is available in the Guidance on Isolating Patients with Healthcare Associated Infection published by the Department of Health as part of the Saving Lives programme in 2007. As this document emphasises,
	the correct and timely placement of infected patients (suspected or proven infection) into single rooms can be very effective in reducing the overall numbers of infected patients; it can also reduce the risk of colonisation in other patients within the ward.
	This document is available on the HPA's website at the same link as above and on the Clean, Safe care website, link:
	http://www.clean-safe-care.nhs.uk/public/default.aspx?level=2load=ToolsNodeID=181
	A copy has been placed in the Library.

Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 2055W, on coastal areas, what matters have been raised by his Department's representation on the cross-departmental working group; and at what level his Department is represented at the group's meetings.

Phil Hope: The strategic objectives for the Department are better health and well-being for all, better care for all and better value for all.
	The cross-departmental working group is looking at English coastal towns. The Department has raised the role of the Joint Strategic Needs Assessment set out in the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 to facilitate stronger local partnerships, including coastal towns, to improve health and social care and reduce inequalities. The Department's Health Inequalities Spearhead Council programme includes coastal towns.
	The Department is represented at Grade 6 level.

Community Nurses: Social Services

Simon Hughes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department provides to community nurses on the co-ordination of their work with people employed by social services departments.

Ann Keen: No guidance has been issued centrally. It is for local national health service organisations in partnership with local authorities to commission high quality services and to integrate health and social care. The Nursing and Midwifery Council's 'The code: Standards of conduct, performance and ethics for nurses and midwives' makes the commitment for members to work with others to protect and promote the health and well-being of those in their care, their families and carers, and the wider community.

Continuing Care

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 9 December 2008,  Official Report, column 68W, on continuing care: standards, how many people were in receipt of continuing care in  (a) England,  (b) each strategic health authority area and  (c) each primary care trust area in each (i) quarter and (ii) year since 1998.

Phil Hope: The information requested has been placed in the Library.
	Data before 2007-08 were collected on an annual basis. Prior to 2002-03 these data were not collected.

Dementia

John Battle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when he plans to publish the Government's dementia strategy; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: We will publish the National Dementia Strategy early in 2009, which will be a major landmark in improving services for people with dementia and their carers.

Departmental Correspondence

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) letters and  (b) e-mails received by his Department had not been responded to as at 15 December 2008.

Ben Bradshaw: The Whitehall standard target for the Department is to ensure that at least 90 per cent. of all ministerial and public correspondence receives a quality response within 20 working days.
	As at the 15 December, the Department had 1,438 letters awaiting a response. Of these, 34 letters have missed the Whitehall standard target.
	The Department had 848 emails awaiting response. Of these, 37 emails have missed the Whitehall standard target.

Departmental Energy

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps his Department is taking to reduce the amount of energy it wastes.

Ben Bradshaw: This Department supports and aims to meet the Government's targets to reduce carbon emissions and improve the energy efficiency of the Government estate. We have been working with the Carbon Trust to identify energy saving measures, and will shortly be embarking on a Carbon Management Programme throughout our core estate and in our arm's length bodies.
	We have taken part in a number of staff events aimed at encouraging people to save energy, both at work and at home.
	We have produced a Green IT Action Plan that includes a roadmap for implementation of the Quick Win energy saving initiatives within the Cabinet Office Greening Government ICT paper.

Departmental Furniture

Madeleine Moon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by his Department on furniture made by  (a) British firms,  (b) Remploy and  (c) overseas firms in each year since 2000.

Ben Bradshaw: The cost of furniture purchased by the Department since 2001-02 is as follows:
	
		
			
			 2001-02 113,000 
			 2002-03 76,000 
			 2003-04 46,743 
			 2004-05 149,097 
			 2005-06 514,155 
			 2006-07 1,074,555 
			 2007-08 675,018 
		
	
	The Department does not currently keep a record of itemised purchases so are unable to break down the figures as requested, though the vast majority of furniture is obtained by the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) framework main contracted supplier, Kinnarps, who are Swedish based. The Department does not hold figures for earlier than 2001-02.

Departmental ICT

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 3 November 2008,  Official Report, column 78W, on departmental ICT, what the  (a) expected completion date and  (b) estimated cost of each of the projects listed was at their outset.

Ben Bradshaw: The projects listed in my previous answer were those over 100,000 currently being undertaken by the Department, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA). The original expected completion date and estimated cost details are listed as follows:
	
		
			  Name of organisation  Name of project  Total estimated cost of project at outset (000)  Estimated delivery date of project at outset 
			 Department of Health Ref Costs 2008 875 December 2008 
			 Department of Health MEDS Improvements 240 December 2008 
			 Department of Health MEDBEN 680 February 2008 
			 Department of Health Learning Management System 684 May 2009 
			 Department of Health Contact 519 March 2009 
			 Department of Health ACCEA 1,203 July 2009 
			 Department of Health CAS 578 September 2008 
			 Department of Health Delphi 2 2,198 January 2009 
			 Department of Health Business Intelligence Implementation 967 January 2009 
			 Department of Health Enterprise Architecture Programme 250 March 2009 
			 Department of Health Health Protection Informatics Website(1) 485 n/a 
			 Department of Health Quickr (Quickplace Upgrade) 188 August 2008 
			 Department of Health Centralised Security Monitoring 171 April 2008 
			 Department of Health Citrix Upgrade 154 April 2008 
			 Department of Health WAN Upgrade 411 April 2009 
			 MHRA Sentinel Server Upgrade 3,500 January 2009 
			 MHRA Sentinel Component software development 1,600 June 2009 
			 MHRA Eudra GMP Linkage 320 January 2009 
			 PASA Pharmacy Replacement(2) 150 March 2009 
			 (1) The HPI is an IT programme, rather than a single project. It has been set up to provide information and data services to enable the DH to manage the national immunisation programme. It also provides tools to facilitate the management of surveillance information as part of the DH pandemic preparedness measures. The programme was initially established in 2004 to collect flu update data from GPs with a budget of 485,000. The programme has expanded since that point, providing national immunisation data related to a number of vaccinations including influenza, pneumococcal and HPV, as well as surveillance and pandemic preparedness initiatives. Further development and support of the application will be ongoing, to reflect the evolving immunisation and panflu preparedness programmes. The website is being produced and maintained as part of this programme. It does not have a given date. (2 )The figure of 150,000 relates to the original scope of the Pharmacy Replacement project. This was subsequently expanded.  Note: This corrects information given to the hon. Member on 3 November 2008,  Official Report, column 78W. 
		
	
	The IT projects undertaken by Connecting for Health are listed as follows.
	
		
			  Name of organisation  Name of project  Total estimated cost of project ( billion)  Current estimated delivery date of project 
			 NHS Connecting for Health National Programme for IT (NPfTT) (1)6.2 (2) 
			 (1 )The value of contracts placed in 2003 and 2004 for the core components of the National programme was 6.2 billion over 10 years. Note: costs of the items procured under these contracts have not increased, but there have been increases to the scope and a number of new products have been added. The figure reported in the 3 November reply also included other central and local costs of the programme, for which no comparable figure was available when the core contracts were placed. (2 )NPfTT comprises a number of separate systems and services for which, as a whole, there is no single completion date.

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make it his policy to ensure that those temporary and permanent employees at the same grade in his Department who are paid at an hourly rate are paid at the same rate.

Ben Bradshaw: The Department does not employ any permanent staff paid at an hourly rate.
	Since July 2008 temporary clerical and administrative workers are supplied from agencies to the Department under the Home Office Framework. The supplying agencies are selected by fair competition on the basis of value for money. The Department contracts with the supplying agencies and not their temporary employees.
	The Department cannot interfere in the commercial relationship between an agency and its employee and so cannot ensure parity in the rates paid by the agency to its employee as compared with the Department's own employees.

Down's Syndrome

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many children have been born with  (a) Down's Syndrome and  (b) Fragile X Syndrome in each of the last 30 years.

Kevin Brennan: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 17 December 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent question asking how many children have been born with (a) Down's Syndrome and (b) Fragile X Syndrome in each of the last 30 years. (244804)
	The table attached provides the number of live and stillbirths notified to the National Congenital Anomaly System for England and Wales (NCAS) with a mention of (a) Down's Syndrome and (b) Fragile X Syndrome for the last 30 years. Figures for Fragile X Syndrome are not available prior to 1995.
	The number of notifications received by NCAS is likely to be less than the actual number of infants born with an anomaly. The level of under-reporting would be higher for anomalies which are not readily apparent at birth, such as Fragile X Syndrome, than for those which are easier to diagnose, such as Down's Syndrome.
	NHS Trusts provide these notifications to NCAS on a voluntary basis, either on forms sent to the Office for National Statistics shortly after the birth or via local congenital anomaly registers. The recording of congenital anomalies is more complete in those areas where a register operates, because the register can obtain additional information locally later. Consequently, the figures for congenital anomalies are presented separately for areas where a register operated and for areas without a register in a particular year. While a few of these local congenital anomaly registers were already established in 1998, others were set up as late as 2003. In 2006, registers covered 43 per cent of births in England and all births in Wales.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of notifications to the National Congenital Anomaly System with a mention of (a) Down's Syndrome( 1)  and (b) Fragile X Syndrome( 1, 2)  1977 to 2006 England and Wales( 3) 
			Down's Syndrome  Fragile X Syndrome 
			   Percentage of births covered by a register( 3)  Register areas  Non register areas  Total  Register areas  Non register areas  Total 
			 1977 0 0 425 425 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1978 0 0 444 444 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1979 0 0 463 463 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1980 0 0 481 481 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1981 0 0 475 475 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1982 0 0 527 527 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1983 0 0 497 497 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1984 0 0 505 505 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1985 0 0 442 442 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1986 0 0 445 445 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1987 0 0 459 459 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1988 0 0 428 428 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1989 0 0 487 487 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1990 0 0 415 415 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1991 0 0 440 440 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1992 0 0 394 394 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1993 0 0 311 311 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1994 0 0 316 316 n/a n/a n/a 
			 1995 0 0 320 320 0 1 1 
			 1996 0 0 357 357 0 3 3 
			 1997 0 0 412 412 0 1 1 
			 1998 5 38 419 457 n/a n/a 1 
			 1999 14 99 327 426 n/a n/a 7 
			 2000 27 167 244 411 2 0 2 
			 2001 26 165 216 381 0 1 1 
			 2002 32 165 192 357 2 0 2 
			 2003 45 275 132 407 3 1 4 
			 2004 48 361 112 473 2 0 2 
			 2005 48 372 108 480 0 0 0 
			 2006(4) 44 309 109 418 0 0 0 
			 (1) The table includes notifications between 1995 and 2006 coded to (a) Q90 and (b) Q99.2 using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Edition (ICD-10). Figures for 1995 onwards are based on data on NCAS on 17 October 2007. Figures for Down's Syndrome for earlier years are taken from previous publicationsnotifications between 1979 and 1994 were coded to 758.0 (ICD-9). (2) Figures for Fragile X are not available before 1995. Figures for notifications in register areas in 1998 and 1999 are omitted because they would be based on data from only two registers. (3) Births to women resident in England and Wales. (4) Figures for 2006 exclude data for some areas which used to be part of East Midlands and South Yorkshire congenital anomaly register.

Drugs: Misuse

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the purpose is of the Drug Change Programme pilots; and what assessment he has made of the implications of the pilots for levels of bureaucracy in the administration of drug and alcohol treatment.

Dawn Primarolo: The purpose of the Drug System Change Pilots programme is to test the potential to make improvements that can make a real difference in the way drug provision is delivered at a regional and local level. In the Drug Strategy, 'Drugs: protecting families and communities (2008)', the Government made a commitment to test out new approaches to delivering services, which ensures the drug treatment system and broader social support services work more closely together and become more focused on improved outcomes, including more personalised and innovative services. A copy of the strategy has already been placed in the Library.
	This pilot programme will give drug partnerships the opportunity to develop new approaches that allow them to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and burdens. Funding will also be available to pilot areas to kick-start the pilots and help build capacity by funding the appointment of a project manager and administrative support.

Health Services: Human Trafficking

Dominic Grieve: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Government-funded residential places were available at any one time for women who were victims of human trafficking in each of the last five years.

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many Government-funded residential places were available for women who were victims of human trafficking in each month of the last five years.

Maria Eagle: I have been asked to reply.
	The Government have funded the Poppy project to provide specialist, high-level support to victims of human trafficking for sexual exploitation since 2003. During the piloting of the project between 2003 and 2005, the service provided 25 supported accommodation places on a rolling basis. Funding was increased in 2006 to provide 25 acute places, 10 resettlement places and an outreach service. In 2007 and 2008 the project was provided with an additional small flexible budget to help with capacity building so victims can be temporarily accommodated in other refuges where necessary.
	The Poppy project has supported 401 women since it opened in 2003; 210 received supported accommodation and 191 received outreach support. A break-down on occupancy levels by year is not available. Data on the number of victims that have not been able to access the Poppy project due to it reaching capacity in the last five years is not available.
	We are currently tendering for a national support service model for victims of human trafficking, which will include an increased number of accommodation places from spring 2009.

Health Services: Stoke on Trent

Joan Walley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress has been made in respect of patient representation in the health service in Stoke-on-Trent; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not collected centrally.
	The Government are committed to creating a stronger voice for service users and members of the public at every level of the healthand social caresystem, developing systems that are led by what people want and that learn from experience.
	A number of ways exist for patients or their representativesas well as their families and carers, and members of the publicnot only to express their views on their experiences of care and their needs for services but to have different levels of more direct involvement in influencing the planning, commissioning, delivery and scrutiny of publicly funded services.
	For example there is a duty on the national health service to involve people in service planning and development, a new duty on primary care trusts to report back to communities on the impact of consultation on their commissioning decisions, and a local involvement network in each local authority with social services responsibilities area in England. We are also introducing a single, more simple, complaints system covering all NHS and adult social care services that focuses on the individual and seeks to ensure that people's experiences help to improve services. NHS foundation trusts also offer the opportunity of membership to local people.

Health Visitors

David Kidney: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families on the role of health visitors in safeguarding children;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the contribution that health visitors make towards safeguarding children.

Ann Keen: Ministers and officials of the Department and the Department for Children, Schools and Families have regular discussions about all aspects of safeguarding children. Health visitors, like all health professionals working directly with children, have a responsibility to safeguard and promote their welfare.

Hospitals: Hygiene

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effectiveness of hospitals in meeting hygiene and cleanliness standards.

Ann Keen: NHS Estates set up the Patient Environment Action Team (PEAT) programme in 2000 to inspect hospital cleanliness. This programme is now managed by the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA). Under the PEAT programme, every inpatient health care facility in England with more than 10 beds is assessed annually. PEAT inspections cover food and aspects of privacy and dignity, as well as cleanliness and the environment. All areas have shown improvement this year. The hospital PEAT scores for 2008 show 98.5 per cent. of hospitals are now rated excellent, good or acceptable. More information can be found on the NPSA website:
	www.npsa.nhs.uk/peat.
	The Health Act 2006: Code of Practice for the Prevention and Control of Healthcare Associated Infections, commonly called the Hygiene Code, came into force on 1 October 2006 and requires national health service bodies to have appropriate management and clinical governance systems in place to deliver effective infection control. Compliance with the Code is assessed by the Healthcare Commission (HCC), who have the power to issue an improvement notice to an NHS body that is not compliant. During 2007-08 the HCC carried out 120 unannounced inspections to ensure compliance with the Hygiene Code and, from April 2008, specialist teams from the HCC have been carrying out annual infection control inspections of all acute trusts against the Hygiene Code. Four improvement notices have been issued to acute trusts by the HCC so far. All four trusts subsequently demonstrated that they had improved and were compliant with the Hygiene Code.
	As part of the HCC's Annual Health Check, the HCC asks all NHS trusts to declare their performance against the 44 parts of the 24 core standards for NHS healthcare, as set out in Standards for Better Health. The HCC then carries out a number of inspections to test these declarations. Three standards relate to the hygiene code, C04a (infection control), C04c (decontamination) and C21 (clean environments). In the 2007-08 annual health check, the national compliance rate in the NHS for C04a (infection control) was 88 per cent., the compliance rate for C04c (decontamination) was 77 per cent., and the compliance rate for C21 (clean environments) was 90 per cent.
	Further information on the HCC's programme, including the results of their inspections of individual trusts against the Hygiene Code, a summary of their findings of the first 51 inspections against the Hygiene Code in 2008 and their reports on the 2007-08 Annual Health Check and on the State of Healthcare 2008, can be found on their website, www.healthcarecommission.org.uk. The Care Quality Commission, the new health and adult social care regulator established under the new Health and Social Care Act, will continue to regulate and inspect trusts against their requirements to prevent and control infections.

Learning Disability

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what plans he has to improve information provision for people with a learning disability who require social care; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will commission research to analyse potential financial savings to the Department of Health of greater investment in employment provision for people with a learning disability;
	(3)  what steps he is taking to ensure black and minority ethnic communities are aware of the social care available to support people with a learning disability; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: People from black and minority ethnic communities with learning disabilities and their families may need better information about the social care support that is available to them. This was highlighted in the Valuing People Now (December 2007) consultation, and action to address this concern will be a priority in the forthcoming strategy, which is due to be published in the new year.
	It is important for people with learning disabilities to have the right information in a format that is accessible to them. Putting People First (December 2007), a copy of which has already been placed in the Library, sets out that people should have access to better support, information and advocacy so they (and their carers) are able to find the information they need. This will be addressed in the Valuing People Now strategy.
	A key strand of that forthcoming strategy will be around supporting people with learning disabilities to have jobs. We are working across Government to support the implementation of Public Service Agreement 16, which aims to support socially excluded adults, including those with learning disabilities, into employment and settled accommodation. This includes work on the Getting a Life programme, which will help to improve the evidence base and ensure greater working opportunities are available for people with learning disabilities. The Department has no current plans to commission other research on this issue.

Learning Disability

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance is given to local authorities to ensure that their resource allocation systems achieve a fair and effective allocation of resources for people with learning disabilities; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: It is for local authorities to ensure that their systems for allocating social care funding are fair and effective. The Department published a personalisation toolkit in June 2008 which provides local authorities with advice and working examples to help them transform their social care systems, including the development of their resource allocation systems. A copy has been placed in the Library.

Learning Disability

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the mortality rate of people with a learning disability has been in each of the last 30 years;
	(2)  how many people with a learning disability received state-funded social care in the latest period for which figures are available.

Phil Hope: We do not have information on the mortality rates of people with a learning disability in each of the last 30 years.
	Data on the number of people receiving services funded either fully or partially by councils with adult social services responsibilities (CASSRs) in England is collected and published by The NHS Information Centre for health and social care as part of the referrals, assessments and packages of care return.
	During the period 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007 137,000 adults aged 18-64 in England with learning disabilities received a social care service funded either partly or wholly by their CASSR following a community care assessment. Data for 2007-08 will be published at the end of this month.

Learning Disability

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated on the out-of-area placement of people with learning disabilities in each of the last five years.

Phil Hope: The Department's policy is that services should be personalised to meet the needs of the individual including providing support as close to home as possible.
	We have a programme of work to support development of local services so that people with learning disabilities do not need to be sent away from home. The Department has not commissioned specific research on out-of-area placements.

Learning Disability: Babies

Greg Mulholland: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent assessment he has made of the effect advances in peri-natal and neo-natal care have had on the number of babies with profound and multiple learning disabilities surviving beyond infancy; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: No recent assessment has been made.
	Advances in technology and health care expertise has led to increasing survival rates of very premature babies over the last 20 years. Over the past decade, survival has improved dramatically for babies born at 26 weeks of gestation and above so that now over 80 per cent. survive.
	The EPICure Study (led by the Department of Child Health, University of Nottingham) was established in 1995 to determine the chances of survival and later health status by following up children who were born in the United Kingdom and Ireland at less than 26 weeks gestational age during a 10 month period in that year. This is now an on-going study, which it is hoped will not only show survival and rates of disability but also identify factors at birth, which could give an indication as to the long-term outcome for the survivors.
	The latest information is that of all babies born at 25 weeks gestation that survive to six years 60 per cent. are either not disabled or have a mild disability and 40 per cent. will have moderate to severe disability.

Lyme Disease

Hugo Swire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will institute a national register of those who have contracted Lyme disease.

Dawn Primarolo: There are no plans to set up a national register for cases of Lyme disease. Robust surveillance nationally is already in place, based upon reporting of all laboratory confirmed cases of  Borrelia burgdorferi infection, the cause of Lyme disease. The Department is proposing to strengthen this surveillance by making meningitis associated with  Borrelia infection notifiable under proposed new regulations to be made under the Public Health Control of Disease Act 1984. We will be consulting on this latter proposal shortly.

Mental Health Services

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made in achieving race equality in the local commissioning of mental health services.

Phil Hope: In 2005 the Department launched 'Delivering Race Equality in Mental Health Care' (DRE). DRE is a five year action plan designed to improve black and minority ethnic (BME) communities' experience of mental health services, and to address the apparent inequalities in the incidence of severe mental illness between ethnic groups in England. There has been significant progress.
	For example, the DRE programme has helped to develop replicable good practice around tailored pathways of care for BME service users; new training in race equality for mental health staff has been tested successfully and made available nationally; pilot projects of the programme improving access to psychological therapies have demonstrated that BME communities can have equal access to, and equal outcomes from, the new services; and primary care trusts have so far recruited over 400 new community development workers, whose role is to build links between local BME communities and mental health services and to help communities play a part in planning and providing those services.
	We do, though, believe that the national health service still must do more to meet the needs of increasingly diverse local populations, particularly by delivering early and equitable access to effective community-based interventions. These issues will stay a priority for services for the duration of the DRE programme and beyond.

Mental Health Services

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent steps he has taken to improve primary care services for people with mental health problems.

Phil Hope: We are investing significantly in the Improving Access to Psychological Therapies programme (IAPT), with annual funding rising to 173 million to train 3,600 extra therapists and treat 900,000 more people by 2011. Investment in IAPT will help to add to existing provision of psychological therapies, increase capacity, reduce waiting times and drive up quality standards. Primary care trusts will be able to offer patients a fully integrated care pathway for mental health services, from mild to moderate depression or anxiety disorders to acute mental health problems.

Mental Health Services: Prisons

Iain Duncan Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many prisoners received mental health care treatment in the last financial year.

Phil Hope: This information is not collected centrally.

Mentally Ill

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent progress has been made by the National Social Inclusion working group on the co-ordination and establishment of regional employment partnerships for people with mental health problems; and if he will make a statement.

Phil Hope: The National Social Inclusion Programme's regional employment teams (RETs) on Mental Health initiative is a two year project to implement action 23 of the Social Exclusion Task Force report Reaching Out, An Action Plan on Social Exclusion (Cabinet Office, 2006). Action point 23 relates to improving employment outcomes for people with severe mental health conditions. It also aims to encourage local activity to achieve the mental health employment target of public service agreement 16 (PSA 16), to improve employment and housing outcomes for socially excluded groups.
	During their first year of operation the range of activity undertaken by RETs included regional summits of key partners, the creation of strategy groups with partnership meetings and stakeholder events and the development of a regional action plan and statement of priorities.
	The RETs have also looked at how best to influence existing policies and strategies, such as the development of the city strategy initiative and roll out of Pathways to Work and Increasing Access to Psychological Therapies programmes.
	As well as local activity the RETs provide ongoing input into development of national policy. This includes working with the Cabinet Office on data collection and measuring progress against mental health employment target under PSA16, and input into the cross-Government group on mental health and employment.
	The other critical policy development for the RETs activity is the cross Government response to Dame Carol Black's report Working for a healthier tomorrow in which mental health is both a cross cutting theme as well as forming a separate work stream.

National Support for Local Implementation

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the extent of local use of his Department's resource tool National Support for Local Implementation in relation to long-term conditions.

Ann Keen: We have made no assessment of the extent of local use of the resource tool National Support for Local Implementation.

Neurology

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made towards achieving the 11 quality requirements to improve treatment, care and support from diagnosis to end of life for people with neurological conditions in 2008.

Ann Keen: We have made no assessment of the progress made towards the 11 quality requirements to improve the treatment, care and support to those with neurological conditions published in the National Service Framework for Long-term (neurological) Conditions (the NSF), a copy of which has been placed in the Library.
	Since publication of the NSF, the Department has provided service planners, commissioners and providers with guidance, expert advice and support to help them to deliver the NSF's quality requirements. However, in line with devolving responsibility to local organisations, we are moving to new phase with much greater emphasis on local health and social care communities and the third sector taking responsibility for driving forward service change and improvement.

NHS: Finance

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 2066W, on departmental public expenditure, whether the weighted capitation formula for National Health Service allocations takes into account  (a) transience of,  (b) levels of alcohol and drug abuse in,  (c) the number of elderly people in,  (d) the number of households not meeting the decent housing threshhold in,  (e) the number of people on incapacity benefit in and  (f) the number of vulnerable children and adults in local populations;
	(2)  whether the weighted cap funding for health used by his Department includes weighting for the number of  (a) houses of multiple occupation,  (b) caravan parks and  (c) other forms of housing associated with transient populations.

Ben Bradshaw: Revenue allocations to primary care trusts (PCTs) in England for 2009-10 and 2010-11 were announced on 8 December 2008. They were informed by the new weighted capitation formula for England developed by the independent Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation (ACRA).
	The weighted capitation formula for England is based on an assessment of the relative need for health care services, which takes account of the size, age, health status and socio-economic characteristics of PCTs' populations. The weighted capitation formula takes direct account of the number of elderly people, and for the health and community health services component, the number of people on incapacity benefit. The formula also takes into account the number of asylum seekers. The other characteristics listed are not taken into account directly within the formula.
	As part of the review that informed the new formula, ACRA commissioned independent research on the appropriate elements to be included in the weighted capitation formula. The new formula includes a range of socio-economic characteristics and indicators of deprivation, all of which have been tested for technical robustness and materiality.
	The full list of factors taken into account in the weighted capitation formula is set out in the Department's publication Resource Allocation: Weighted Capitation Formula, Sixth Edition, which has been placed in the Library, and is also available at:
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_091849
	The Report of the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation has already been placed in the Library and is also available at:
	http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_091484
	The research reports supporting ACRA's review will also be published shortly.

NHS: Stress

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take in response to the finding in the Healthcare Commission's report State of Healthcare 2008 that 33 per cent. of NHS staff report that they are stressed at work.

Ann Keen: The 33 per cent. figure quoted in the State of Healthcare Report 2008 is taken from the NHS Staff Survey Report 2007.
	It is important that the staff survey results inform future work to improve the working lives of NHS staff at national, regional and local level.
	NHS Employers has developed a range of advice, guidance and tools to support employers in addressing stress in the workplace and these can be found at:
	www.nhsemployers.org/practice/practice-4010.cfm
	For example in spring 2009 NHS Employers, working in partnership with the Health and Safety Executive, staff side organisations and the NHS Litigation Authority will be running a series of workshops to exchange good practice already developed with the service.

Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Strokes

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many specialist stroke nurses were employed by the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in each year since 2001; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not held centrally.

Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: Strokes

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated for stroke-related conditions in the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and its predecessor trust in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: The information requested is not available in the format requested.
	Only data on hospital admissions and activity within hospitals are collected and not all incidences of strokes are treated within a hospital setting.
	The Department holds information on patients treated in an in-patient setting who have a diagnosis of stroke or late effects of a stroke recorded. Together, these do not cover all stroke-related conditions as there are a huge number of diagnoses a clinician may or may not include as being a result of a late effect of stroke.
	Information on the total admissions to hospital in which the patient had a primary diagnosis of stroke and total admissions in which a patient had a secondary diagnosis of sequelae (late effects) of stroke for Peterborough and Stamford NHS Foundation Trust in years 2002-03 to 2006-07 is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Primary diagnosis of stroke( 1)  Sequelae (late effects) of stroke( 2) 
			 2006-07 359 295 
			 2005-06 437 289 
			 2004-05 440 295 
			 2003-04 424 216 
			 2002-03 450 193 
			 (1 ) Primary diagnosis: The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 20 (14 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was admitted to hospital.  Primary Diagnosis of Stroke: 160Subarachnoid haemorrhage 161Intracerebral haemorrhage 162Other nontraumatic intracranial haemorrhage 163Cerebral infarction I64X Stroke, not specified as haemorrhage or infarction. (2) Secondary diagnoses: As well as the primary diagnosis, there are up to 19 (13 from 2002-03 to 2006-07 and six prior to 2002-03) secondary diagnosis fields in HES that show other diagnoses relevant to the episode of care.  Sequelae (late effects) of Stroke: 169.0Sequelae of subarachnoid haemorrhage 169.1Sequelae of intracerebral haemorrhage 169.2Sequelae of other nontraumatic intracranial haemorrhage 169.3Sequelae of cerebral infarction 169.4Sequelae of stroke, not specified as haemorrhage or infarction.  Notes: 1.  Quality of care: Data derived from HES cannot be used in isolation to evaluate the quality of care provided by national health service trusts or clinical teams. There are many factors that can affect the outcome of treatment and it is beyond the scope of HES to adequately record and reflect all of these. 2.  Ungrossed data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed). 3.  Finished admission episodes: A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Finished admission episodes are counted against the year in which the admission episode finishes. Admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year. 4.  Data quality: HES are compiled from data sent by more than 300 NHS trusts and primary care trusts in England. Data is also received from a number of independent sector organisations for activity commissioned by the English NHS. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain. 5.  Assessing growth through time: HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. The quality and coverage of the data have improved over time. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), the Information Centre for health and social care.

Prescriptions: Contraceptives

David Amess: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what pilot schemes on dispensing of the morning-after pill through pharmacies have taken place in each of the last five years; and what assessment he has made of the outcomes of each scheme.

Dawn Primarolo: These are local schemes and no national assessment has been made.

Primary Care Trusts

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of exception reporting in each category of reason there were in each primary care trust area in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Ben Bradshaw: This information is not collected centrally.

Social Services: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1516W, on social services: coastal areas, 
	(1)  if he will make it his policy centrally to collect data at  (a) town and  (b) ward level on out-of-county placements of vulnerable adults in the principal seaside towns of England and Wales;
	(2)  if he will consider the merits of collecting statistics on the placements of vulnerable people by social services departments, broken down by  (a) county,  (b) town,  (c) ward and  (d) lower super output area.

Phil Hope: The requirements for statistical returns from Councils with Adult Social Services Responsibilities (CASSRs) were set out in the answer of 26 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1516W. These are national requirements made upon all relevant local authorities in England, including those areas constituting the principal seaside towns. There are no specific requirements which relate only to seaside towns, nor do these requirements extend to local authorities in Wales.
	The current data requirements include information on out-of-area placements in residential care. Following the implementation of the new Local Performance Framework for Local Authorities and their Partners from April 2008, the Department has undertaken a review of its national adult social care collections. This review, facilitated by the NHS Information Centre for Health and social care, has been wide ranging and culminated in a public consultation on proposals for the future, conducted under national statistics rules. One of the recommendations of the review was to consider how the current information on out-of-area placements can be better collected to achieve an improved information resource for local partners. This is currently in discussion with partners, including the Commission for Social Care Inspection, to determine options for improving this data source, and further recommendations are expected to be made in 2009.

Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent considerations his Department has given to measures to tackle tuberculosis infection in the UK.

Dawn Primarolo: In June 2007 we launched a national TB Toolkit to support commissioning of tuberculosis (TB) services tailored to local needs, and reinforce the need for providers to follow the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines on treatment of tuberculosis. The NICE guidelines make specific recommendations about active screening for TB infection among high-risk groups including homeless people and prisoners and among people who have been in close contact with someone with TB.
	London TB services are funded by the Department to run a pilot study using a mobile X-ray unit (MXU) to screen homeless hostels and prisons. Evaluation of the pilot showed the MXU to be an effective case-finding tool among these populations. In addition, since October 2007 the Department has funded Find and Treat, a small multidisciplinary team of tuberculosis nurse specialists, social and outreach workers, to provide practical support and advice to TB services across London for around 300 patients with complex and challenging needs. Support includes: locating and re-engaging patients who have been lost to follow-up care; providing links between prison health and the MXU to NHS tuberculosis services; organising case conferences and directly observed therapy (DOT) partnerships and engaging relevant allied support services in the community to help patients complete treatment.
	The Home Office has a long standing policy of referring passengers from countries with a high risk of TB seeking entry to the UK for more than six months for medical examination at ports of entry. Heathrow and Gatwick have X-ray machines, and any chest X-ray consistent with TB leads to the person being referred to local services.
	There is also a programme of pre-entry screening for TB in some countries before a visa can be obtained (Bangladesh, Sudan, Tanzania, Pakistan, Thailand, Kenya and Ghana).
	The prevention of tuberculosis relies on the early diagnosis and treatment of those with active disease so that they do not infect others and we are keeping emerging technologies for detection of latent disease under close review.

Vioxx

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Health with reference to the answer of 17 June 2008,  Official Report, column 779, on cardio-vascular incidents, what steps his Department has taken to ensure that the manufacturer of Vioxx fulfils its responsibilities to people in the UK whose health has been seriously affected after taking the drug; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister of State, Department of Health, on 16 December 2008,  Official Report, column 950.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Deprivation Indicators

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average score and rank of multiple deprivation was for each constituency in England according to the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2007.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	Statistics from the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2007 have not been produced for parliamentary constituencies.
	The Indices of Deprivation 2007 (ID 2007) were constructed at Lower Super Output Area (LSOA) level. LSOAs are consistent in size and over time, and allow identification of small pockets of deprivation. There are 32,482 LSOAs in England. Because parliamentary constituencies are relatively large and subject to boundary change, indices are not produced at this geographical level.
	Six summary measures of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation 2007 have been produced at both local authority district and unitary authority levels. The summary measures at district level focus on different aspects of multiple deprivation in the area. The six measures are average score, average rank, extent, local concentration, income scale, and employment scale.
	IMD07 and the local authority summaries can be found here:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/communities/neighbourhood renewal/deprivation/deprivation07/

Jobcentre Plus

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people applied for adult entertainment industry vacancies advertised by Jobcentre Plus in each year since 2003, broken down by  (a) age,  (b) gender and  (c) type of vacancy;
	(2)  how many vacancies within the adult entertainment industry were advertised by Jobcentre Plus in each year since 2003, broken down by type of vacancy.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 11 December 2008
	The information is not available prior to August 2007. The available information from August 2007 was published in the Jobcentre Plus consultation document, 'Accepting and advertising employer vacancies from within the adult entertainment industry by Jobcentre Plus'. Copies have been placed in the Library and the document can also be viewed at
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/consultations/2008/adult-entertainment-jobs-consultation.pdf.

Jobseeker's Allowance

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  how many people have flowed on to jobseeker's allowance (JSA) who  (a) had previously claimed JSA within the last (i) three months, (ii) six months, (iii) one year and (iv) two years and  (b) had not previously claimed JSA in each of the last 12 months;
	(2)  how many people have flowed on to jobseeker's allowance who  (a) had previously claimed it within the last (i) three months, (ii) six months, (iii) one year and (iv) two years and  (b) had not previously claimed it in each of the last 10 months.

Kevin Brennan: holding answer 16 December 2008
	I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the authority to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 16 December 2008:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your Parliamentary Question asking how many people have flowed on to jobseeker's allowance (JSA) who (a) had previously claimed JSA within the last (i) three months (ii) six months (iii) one year and (iv) two years and (b) had not previously claimed jobseeker's allowance, in each of the last 12 months. (244471).
	We have combined this answer with another Parliamentary Question asking how many people have flowed on to jobseeker's allowance (JSA) who (a) had previously claimed JSA within the last (i) three months (ii) six months (iii) one year and (iv) two years and (b) had not previously claimed it, in each of the last 10 months. (244472).
	Table 1, attached, shows the estimate of the number of people who have flowed on to JSA in each of the last 12 months, by the length of time since they last claimed and also the number of people who have never previously claimed. These estimates have been derived using data from the Jobcentre Plus 5% cohort. This is a sample of the Jobcentre Plus administrative system.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of onflows( 1)  to j obseeker ' s  a llowance by length of time since previous claim, by month 
			  N ot seasonally adjusted 
			   Length of time since previous claim 
			  Month of onflow  Up to 3 months  Up to 6 months  Up to 1 year  Up to 2 years  Never claimed 
			  2007  
			 November 67.4 84.3 101.9 114.2 31.2 
			 December(2) 81.3 102.1 123.8 139.1 35.4 
			  2008  
			 January 63.6 79.9 96.0 107.4 27.5 
			 February(2) 85.4 112.1 137.4 155.7 48.4 
			 March 64.6 83.9 100.8 114.8 33.6 
			 April 62.3 77.7 93.6 106.6 33.3 
			 May 68.6 81.7 97.3 110.7 31.4 
			 June(2) 90.7 110.6 131.5 148.3 43.8 
			 July 73.6 91.0 109.2 126.4 53.2 
			 August(2) 93.9 118.2 140.6 161.2 62.7 
			 September 76.9 104.0 111.3 126.3 53.1 
			 October 80.7 101.3 118.4 136.3 53.3 
			 (1) Number of claims started within month. (2) Five week month (remaining months are 4 week months). (3) Estimates are based on a 5 per cent. sample of computerised claims. All claims have been weighted by a factor of 20 to represent the population.  Source: Jobcentre Plus 5 per cent. Cohort(2)

Pension Credit

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the cost was of the housing cost premium paid out to pension credit claimants in each year since it was introduced.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave her on 26 November,  Official Report, column 2012W.

Pension Credit: Housing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the  (a) maximum and  (b) minimum amount payable as additional housing cost premium of pension credit was in each year since its introduction.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to her on 26 November,  Official Report, column 2012W.

Pension Credit: Housing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many and what proportion of pension credit claimants have received a premium for each type of housing cost in each year since pension credit was introduced.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to her on 26 November,  Official Report, column 2011W.

Pension Credit: Housing

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what the average amount has been of the additional housing cost premium of pension credit which has been paid to claimants in receipt of it in each year since its introduction; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave to her on 26( )November,  Official Report, column 2012W.

Pension Credit: Overpayments

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what average amount of overpaid pension credits per case was clawed back by his Department in  (a) each month of 2008-09 and  (b) each of the last five financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer the Minister of State, (Mr. McNulty) gave the hon. Member on 26 November,  Official Report, volume 170, column 2014W.

Pension Credit: Overpayments

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much in overpaid pension credits was recovered by his Department in each  (a) month of 2008-09 and  (b) year from 2003-04 to 2007-08; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer the Minister of State, (Mr. McNulty) gave the hon. Member on 26 November 2008,  Official Report, volume 170, column 2014W.

Pension Credit: Overpayments

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much overpaid pension credit was reimbursed to his Department on average as a result of cases taken to court over repayment in  (a) each month of 2008-09 and  (b) each of the last five financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member on 26 November 2008,  Official Report , volume 170, column 2014W.

Pension Credit: Overpayments

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many individuals have been taken to court by his Department to seek repayment of overpaid pension credits in each  (a) month of 2008-09 and  (b) of the last five financial years; and if he will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: I refer the hon. Member to the written answer I gave the hon. Member on 10 November 2008,  Official Report , volume 482, column 918W.

Social Security Benefits

Jennifer Willott: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much was spent on free  (a) school meals and  (b) prescriptions for benefit claimants (i) in total and (ii) on average per benefit claimant in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: I have been asked to reply.
	The Department for Children, Schools and Families do not collect information on how much is spent on free school meals.
	Prescription data are not collected about patients, only about the number and cost of items dispensed.
	The information available in respect of England is in the following table.
	
		
			   Total number of items dispensed to benefit recipients( 1)  (Thousand)  Total net ingredient cost of items dispensed (000) 
			 2003 73,340.6 823,208.9 
			 2004 77,347.4 900,858.5 
			 2005 78,540.7 888,754.0 
			 2006 80,525.8 913,349.2 
			 2007 80,947.6 899,138.0 
			 (1) These items are dispensed to recipients of the following (and their partner if they have one) who are automatically entitled to free prescriptions: income support; income-based jobseeker's allowance; working tax credit with child tax credit or working tax credit that includes a disability or severe disability element and in either case whose annual gross taxable income is below a specified amount; and pension credit guarantee credit (applies only to partners under 60 as recipients are exempt on age grounds) (from October 2003, previously minimum income guarantee included with income support).  Notes: 1. The number of items is derived from a one in 20 sample of all exempt items dispensed in the community in England by community pharmacists, appliance contractors and dispensing doctors. 2. The cost is in respect of net ingredient cost of prescription items dispensed in the community in England for each of the last five years.  Source: Prescription Cost Analysis (PCA) Data.

CHILDREN, SCHOOLS AND FAMILIES

Children: Day Care

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what estimate he has made of the average cost of day care provision in each local authority; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: The Department does not collect this information by local authority. However, the Department's 2007 National Childcare and Early Years Providers Survey shows that the national average that parents pay for a full day care place is 3.20 per hour.

Children: Day Care

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many child care places are  (a) available in each region and  (b) planned in the next three years; and how many lone parents in each region have at least one child under seven years of age.

Beverley Hughes: The available information on child care places available by region is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number( 1)  of registered child care places for children under eight years of age by type of care in each Government office region in England , p osition at 31 March 2008 
			  Type of care  Full day care  Sessional day care  Childminders  Out of school day care  Creche day care  All 
			 England 622,500 210,800 298,600 369,200 47,900 1,549,100 
			
			 East of England 59,000 34,800 34,900 34,100 5,800 168,600 
			 East Midlands 55,000 21,700 26,900 25,400 4,100 133,200 
			 Inner London 38,200 5,800 12,200 26,500 4,200 86,900 
			 Outer London 45,100 19,100 29,200 34,500 3,500 131,400 
			 North East 27,400 5,400 15,800 15,000 4,500 68,100 
			 North West England 94,500 21,700 36,000 67,500 6,800 226,400 
			 South East England 108,400 46,000 57,200 63,200 6,600 281,400 
			 South West England 63,600 24,900 28,900 31,100 4,400 152,800 
			 West Midlands 72,300 17,100 27,600 44,000 4,100 165,100 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 59,100 14,300 29,900 28,000 3,900 135,100 
			 (1) Figures have been rounded to the nearest 10 if under 100, and to the nearest 100 if over 100.  Source: Ofsted. 
		
	
	Since 2003 Ofsted has been responsible for the registration and inspection of child care providers. Ofsted have produced figures on the numbers of registered child care providers and places on a quarterly basis from March 2003. Their latest figures were published in their report Registered Childcare Providers and Places, August 2008, which is available on their website:
	www.Ofsted.gov.uk/
	The Office for National Statistics collects information on lone parent families with a child under seven years old. The available information is shown in the table.
	
		
			  Lone parent families where the youngest child is under seven years old by GOR UK 2007 
			  Region  Number  (Thousand) 
			 North East 37 
			 North West (including Merseyside) 98 
			 Yorkshire and Humberside 63 
			 East Midlands 51 
			 West Midlands 71 
			 Eastern 56 
			 London 138 
			 South East 79 
			 South West 51 
			 Wales 43 
			 Scotland 64 
			 Northern Ireland 28 
			 Total(1) 780 
			 (1 )As with all figures in the table, the total is rounded to the nearest thousand.  Source: Annual Population Survey.

Children: Health Services

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families for what aspects of the Children's Health Strategy his Department will have responsibility.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department for Children, Schools and Families is jointly responsible, with the Department of Health, for promoting the health of all children and young people: this has been the case since the Machinery of Government changes in June 2007 announced the creation of the Department for Children, Schools and Families. The Child Health Strategy is being developed jointly by the Department for Children, Schools and Families and Department of Health and will set out the Government's long-term strategy to support children's and families' health. It will be aimed at the NHS, Local Government and partnership organisations, and build on the work already being delivered through Every Child Matters and the National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services. It will consider and clarify how health services, working with schools and other partners, can work better to improve children's and young people's health through ages 0 to 19. It has been developed through widespread consultation with service providers, commissioners, and other stakeholders, and with young people and parents, and will fulfil a commitment in the 'Children's PlanBuilding brighter futures'.

Children: Protection

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many representations his Department has received in the last 18 months from social workers raising concerns about child protection matters in each local authority in the last 18 months.

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many representations his Department has received from social workers on child protection issues in the last 18 months; and to which authorities these were referred.

Beverley Hughes: The Department for Children, Schools and Families receives a large number of representations across a wide range of issues, mostly in the form of correspondence. A significant number relate to safeguarding and child protection issues. It is often unclear whether the correspondent is writing in a personal or official capacity, and correspondents very rarely identify themselves explicitly as social workers. It is not therefore possible to estimate with any confidence the total number of representations received, or the number relating to particular local authorities, from social workers on child protection matters.

Connexions Service: Internet

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many hits the Connexions website received in each of the last five years.

Beverley Hughes: Since its commencement in 2004, the Connexions website has received a total of 21,645,903 hits. Yearly breakdowns are as follows:
	
		
			  Year from January -December  Total number of hits to Connexions Direct website 
			 2004 1,539,063 
			 2005 2,318,511 
			 2006 5,277,636 
			 2007 6,035,274 
			 2008 (1)6,475,419 
			 (1) To date

Departmental Contracts

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with how many faith-based organisations his Department has contracts to provide public services.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested is not held centrally and to provide this would incur disproportionate cost.

Departmental Data Protection

Paul Holmes: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many civil servants in his Department have been  (a) investigated,  (b) suspended and  (c) dismissed for (i) losing and (ii) deliberately disclosing (A) data stored on departmental equipment and (B) confidential information in each year since its inception.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Since the Department was created in July 2007, and up to the end of November 2008, no cases of data loss or disclosure have been investigated.
	The Department takes any breach of security very seriously and, in some cases, may take disciplinary action against those who commit such breaches. Policies and guidance on IT security are available to all staff on the departmental intranet. Logging into the Department's IT system requires that staff must agree to abide by these policies.

Departmental Ministerial Policy Advisers

Grant Shapps: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many special advisers were employed in his Department at each pay band on 30 November 2008; and what his Department's expenditure on special advisers was in 2007-08.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government are committed to publishing an annual list detailing the number and costs of special advisers. Information for 2007-08 was published by my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister on 22 July 2008,  Official Report, columns 99-102WS.

Departmental Pay

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make it his policy to ensure that those temporary and permanent employees at the same grade in his Department who are paid at an hourly rate are paid at the same rate.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: In the Department, all permanent and temporary employees are salaried, and the same policies are applied on starting salary.

Departmental Procurement

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether there has been any nugatory expenditure by his Department and its agencies relating to tendered procurement where the tender process has been cancelled prior to the award of the contract since the inception of his Department.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department does not collect information of this kind and an answer could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Departmental Work Experience

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many individuals have worked in his Department on  (a) paid and  (b) unpaid work experience or internships in each year since its establishment; on average how many hours a week were worked by such people in each year; what types of work each was involved in; what proportion were in full-time education; what proportion did not complete their set period of work experience; and how much those who received remuneration were paid on average per week in each year.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Since its creation in June 2007 to date, the Department has made 49 paid internships and 113 unpaid work experience places available. For internships, 24 interns were placed in summer 2007 and 25 interns in summer 2008. All interns were university-level students in Cabinet Office programmes. For work experience, 40 year 10 and 11 students and 11 graduates were placed from 28 July to December 2007 and 55 year 10 and 11 students and seven graduates were placed from January to December 2008. Information on work experience hours is not collected centrally but it is expected that students and graduates would work similar hours to full-time staff on the relevant site, in or outside of London, and at the discretion of the team to which they have been assigned. Information on students who did not complete their set period of work experience is not collected centrally and, along with the work hours worked, could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	Payments for internships for 2007 and 2008 were 285 per week in London and 245 per week outside London.
	All interns and work experience students and graduates undertook a range of structured and supervised tasks to learn and feedback on the delivery of a range of projects for the Department using the core skills of Professional Skills for Government.

Early Years Capital Grant

Susan Kramer: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families by what means the Government intend to review local authority distribution of the Early Years Capital Grant annually over the 2008-11 spending period; and if he will make a statement.

Beverley Hughes: We expect the majority of the 642 million to be allocated through the Quality and Access Capital Grant (formerly known as the Early Years Capital Grant) during the 2008-11 spending review period to be used primarily to improve the quality of the environment in private, voluntary and independent early years and childcare settings.
	It is up to individual local authorities to determine how the funds available will be spent in order to meet the aims set out for the grant. The expenditure by each local authority is audited to ensure that the funding is used for the purposes intended. Local authorities are able to carry forward unspent sums from one year to the next, though not beyond the Spending Review period.

Homework

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what assessment his Department has made of the amount of homework appropriate to be assigned to  (a) infants and  (b) juniors at primary school.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Homework is not compulsory, but the Government considers that there is an enormous advantage in children spending regular periods of time on different learning activities devised by schools as part of a homework programme which supports the work they do in class.
	Recommended times for homework in schools are based on good practice and set out in the Department's guidance Homework: Guidelines for Primary Schools and Secondary Schools. The guidance recommends that a sensible programme of homework activities for children in years 1 and 2 should be about one hour a week. Between years 3 and 4 this should increase to about one hour and 30 minutes a week, and to about 30 minutes a day at years 5 and 6. While we expect schools to have regard to the guidance they should also consider any particular circumstances of their pupils in determining how much time for homework is appropriate for their pupils at each stage.

Learning Disability

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  how much funding is available to primary schools in  (a) the Ribble Valley,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England for children diagnosed with specific learning difficulties in 2008-09;
	(2)  how much funding is provided for special education schools operating in  (a) the Ribble Valley,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England in 2008-09.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Funding data specifically for children diagnosed with specific learning difficulties are not collected by the Department. However, according to the available information, Lancashire LA's 2008-09 Section 52 Budget statement reports that maintained special schools planned expenditure in the Ribble Valley was 1.4 million and the maintained primary schools received an indicative SEN allocation of 1.9 million.
	The following table provides the planned net expenditure on the provision of education for pupils with special educational needs in Lancashire local authority and England for 2008-09.
	
		
			   
			   Lancashire LA  England 
			 ISB for special schools (Table 1) 35,806,000 1,505,407,000 
			 Funding delegated to nursery schools identified as notional SEN 0 11,660,000 
			 Funding delegated to primary schools identified as notional SEN 30,938,000 1,152,319,000 
			 Funding delegated to secondary schools identified as notional SEN 29,019,000 879,302,000 
			 Total SEN funding delegated to schools 95,763,000 3,548,688,000 
			 Centrally retained SEN element of the school budget 23,452,000 1,185,141,000 
			 SEN element of the LA budget 7,357,000 365,229,000 
			 Total planned expenditure on the education of children with SEN 126,573,000 5,099,058,000 
			  Notes: 1. Includes planned expenditure on the provision for pupils with statements and the provision for non-statemented pupils with SEN, support for inclusion, inter authority recoupment, fees for pupils at independent special schools and abroad, educational psychology service, local authority functions in relation to child protection, therapies and other health related services, parent partnership, guidance and information, the monitoring of SEN provision and inclusion administration, assessment and co-ordination. Also included is the funding delegated to nursery, primary and secondary schools identified as notional SEN and the individual schools budget (ISB) for special schools. 2. The ISB for special schools will include some general education costs for pupils with SEN in addition to those costs specifically for SEN while the figures recorded against notional SEN are only indicative of the amount that might by spent by schools on SEN. During 2008-09 local authorities in England also budgeted 552.6 million for SEN transport expenditure but this is not included in the aforementioned table (Lancashire LA budgeted 14.8 million for SEN transport expenditure). 3. Figures are rounded to the nearest 1,000 and may not sum due to rounding. 4. The data are drawn from Local Authorities Table 2 of their Section 52 Budget statements. The statements are collected by DCSF under section 52 of the Schools Standard and Framework Act 1998. 5. Cash terms figures as reported by local authorities as at 10 December 2008.

Children's Play: Newcastle upon Tyne

Doug Henderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding was provided to Newcastle City Council for the maintenance and establishment of children's play areas in the latest period for which figure are available; and what monitoring his Department undertakes to ensure this funding is being used appropriately by local authorities.

Beverley Hughes: Our public consultations have shown a consistent and strong demand from children and families for better outdoor play spaces near to where they live. In the Children's Plan we committed to invest an additional 235 million to fund up to 3,500 new and refurbished public play areas nationally.
	As part of this programme of investment from 2008-09 to 2010-11, all local authorities will be designated as play Pathfinders of Playbuilders. On average all play Pathfinder authorities will receive 2 million capital funding, 500,000 revenue funding over the course of the programme and Playbuilder authorities will receive around 1 million capital and 45,000 revenue funding. Play Pathfinder authorities will develop a minimum of 28 play areas and a new staffed adventure playground, while Playbuilder authorities will develop a minimum of 22 play areas by 2011. This includes both new play areas and significant refurbishment of existing play areas.
	Newcastle-upon-Tyne was a Playbuilder LA from April 2008 and received 307,407 capital and 12,730 revenue funding for 2008-09. Newcastle has been selected as one of our final 10 Pathfinders and will receive around 2 million capital funding and 500,000 revenue funding from April 2009. Final allocations for 2009-10 and 2010-11 will be finalised in January 2009.
	All Pathfinder and Playbuilder LAs progress on delivery of sites is monitored on a regular basis. Financial monitoring is done through existing processes that LAs already have in place with the Department. In addition, Pathfinder and Playbuilder LAs have to submit an Estimate of Expenditure by January 2009 setting out expenditure to date and projected spend to March. A Statement of Expenditure, certified by the Chief Financial Officer in respect of the grant for the financial year 2008-09, has to be submitted to the Department no later than 30 June 2009. The expenditure has to adhere to the Conditions of Grant, each Pathfinder and Playbuilder LA accepted, and relates to the number and quality of play areas delivered.

Primary Curriculum Review

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families which witnesses gave evidence to the Rose Review into primary education prior to the publication of the interim report.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Review held an initial call for evidence which closed on 30 April 2008. 569 responses were received. A breakdown by type of response has been placed in the Library.
	The list of individuals and groups who have provided evidence to the Review through meetings has been placed in the Library.
	Jim Rose has chaired a group of over 20 leading primary head teachers and senior representatives from organisations such as the National College of School Leadership, National Strategies, and the Training and Development Agency for Schools. This Advisory Group met four times prior to publication of the interim report.
	The QCA provided an evidence report to the Review. This drew on international studies, stakeholder views, school visits, surveys of teachers, pupils and parents, reviews of research literature and the regular curriculum monitoring reports QCA has carried out over the last 10 years.
	A number of development groups established by QCA have provided input to the Review. These groups comprised QCA curriculum advisers, representatives from national organisations such as the primary national strategies, subject experts (nominated by subject associations through the Council for Subject Associations) and practising teachers. The development groups met three times over the course of the autumn.
	160 primary schools are working with QCA as part of a curriculum development network.
	NFER carry out a regular termly survey of a representative sample of teachers. Two surveys have carried out so far and the views of over 600 teachers sought on issues related to the Review.

Pupil Exclusions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many pupils received a fixed period exclusion from school in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by index of multiple deprivation decile.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The readily available information is given in the table. This shows the number of episodes of fixed period exclusion. A pupil may have more than one episode of fixed period exclusion during the year.
	
		
			  Primary, secondary and special schools( 1, 2, 3) : Number of episodes of fixed period exclusions by level of deprivation of school( 4, 5: ) England 2006-07 
			   Primary schools  State funded secondary schools( 2) 
			   Number of schools  Number of Fixed period exclusions  Percentage of the school population( 6)  Number of schools  Number of Fixed period exclusions  Percentage of the school population( 6) 
			  Level of deprivation of school based on IDACI( 4) (%)   
			 0-10 most deprived 1.665 9,404 2.03 261 31.883 13.67 
			 10-20 1.543 7.720 1.79 305 35,618 12.73 
			 20-30 1,695 6,803 1.51 315 36,822 12.75 
			 30-40 1,621 5,525 1.35 372 42.673 12.05 
			 40-50 1,673 3.958 0.98 386 42.667 11.35 
			 50-60 1.882 3.776 0.90 387 42,146 10.98 
			 60-70 1,938 3.102 0.78 340 34.577 10.40 
			 70-80 1.953 2.123 0.54 335 33.451 10.20 
			 80-90 1.851 1.874 0.49 362 32.520 9.12 
			 90-100 least deprived 1.557 1.447 0.40 356 30.914 7.94 
		
	
	
		
			   Special schools( 3)  Total 
			   Number of schools  Number of Fixed period exclusions  Percentage of the school population( 6)  Number of schools  Number of Fixed period exclusions  Percentage of the school population( 6) 
			 Level of deprivation of school based on IDACI(4 )(%)   
			 0-10 most deprived 119 2.433 23.77 2.045 43.720 6.19 
			 10-20 108 1,323 1440 1,956 44.661 6.20 
			 20-30 102 1.658 20.00 2.112 45.283 6.05 
			 30-40 114 2.175 21.35 2,107 50.373 651 
			 40-50 107 1.037 11.47 2,166 47.662 6.04 
			 50-60 92 1.453 17.80 2.361 47.375 5.85 
			 60-70 98 1.512 1890 2.376 39,191 532 
			 70-80 99 1,351 18.33 2,387 36.925 5.08 
			 80-90 111 2,072 21.89 2.324 36,466 4.88 
			 90-100 least deprived 116 1.584 17.12 2.029 33,945 4.47 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. (2) Includes both CTCs and academies. Information is as reported by schools. (3) Includes both maintained and non-maintained special schools. (4) 2004 Income Deprivation Affecting Children Index at Super Output Area level based on the location of the school. Includes all schools which returned information on fixed period exclusions for 2006-07. (5) Figures relate to the number of episodes of fixed period exclusion, a pupil may have more than one episode of fixed period exclusion during the year. (6) The number of fixed period exclusions expressed as a percentage of the number (headcount) of all pupils (excluding dually registered pupils) in January 2006.  Source:  School Census.

Pupil Exclusions: Appeals

Michael Gove: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what percentage of appeals against permanent exclusion have been upheld in each of the last three years, broken down by local authority area.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: holding answer 8 December 2008
	The requested information has been placed in the Library.
	This shows the number and percentage of appeals against permanent exclusion which were decided in favour of the school for each local authority for the years 2004-05 to 2006-07.

Pupils: Diabetes

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will bring forward legislative proposals to ensure children diagnosed with diabetes may not be excluded from education.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Government have no plans to bring forward such legislation; the legislative framework is already in place. Schools have a duty under part 4 of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (as amended by the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001) not to discriminate against disabled pupils and to make reasonable adjustments to ensure that disabled children and young people are not disadvantaged in any way compared to their peers, this includes in extra curricular activities, such as school trips.
	This, taken alongside the guidance 'Managing Medicines in schools and early years' settings' and the special educational needs code of practice provides a suitable legislative framework to help ensure that children with illnesses, such as diabetes, have the same educational opportunities as their peers.

Pupils: Diets

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what research he has  (a) commissioned and  (b) assisted into links between children's educational performance and their diet.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department has not commissioned research to examine the links between children's educational performance and their diet.
	We are aware of research conducted by other organisations, including a review of literature by the Centre for the Wider Benefits of Learning (and a recent study using data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children) which has examined the relationship between diet and school outcomes.
	While the Wider Benefits of Learning study on nutrition and school outcomes was not commissioned by the Department, it was published as part of the Department's research series. Both studies have found that a poor diet has negative implications for attainment.
	The School Food Trust which is funded by the Department has commissioned research to examine the impact of improved food and dining environment on pupils' behaviour in the classroom.

Queen Elizabeth II: Anniversaries

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what plans his Department has to mark the Queen's Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department has not, at this stage, developed plans on how to mark the Diamond Jubilee of Her Majesty the Queen in 2012.
	The Department for Culture, Media and Sport is in discussions with the Royal Household about how to mark the Diamond Jubilee.

Schools: Crimes of Violence

Nigel Evans: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the number of physical attacks against people working in education in 2008;
	(2)  how many teachers working in  (a) the Ribble Valley,  (b) Lancashire and  (c) England were subject to physical attack in the workplace in 2008.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The requested information is not collected centrally.
	Information about the number of permanent and fixed period exclusions as a result of a physical assault against an adult was published in Statistical First Release (SFR) 14/2008 Permanent and Fixed Period Exclusions from Schools in England 2006/07, available on my Department's website:
	www.dcsf.gov.uk/rsgateway/

Schools: Uniforms

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what advice his Department has given to school governing bodies on assistance for parents on low incomes to purchase school uniforms, with particular reference to the range of approved retailers.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: New guidance for schools and governing bodies on school uniform and related policies was published in October 2007. The guidance advises that local authorities have a discretionary power to provide school clothing grants or to help with the cost of school clothing in cases of financial hardship.
	The guidance is available to be downloaded from the TeacherNet website at:
	http://www.teachernet.gov.uk/management/atoz/u/uniform/

Secondary Education: Coastal Areas

Chris Ruane: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 13 November 2008,  Official Report, column 1358W, on secondary education: coastal areas, if he will consider commissioning research on the effect of high turnover in schools on  (a) educational achievement,  (b) social cohesion and family breakdown and  (c) the effective monitoring of vulnerable children.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The Department publishes school Contextual Value Added (CVA) scores via the Achievement and Attainment Tables. The models used to derive these scores show that after controlling for a wide range of other factors, moving between schools at non-standard transfer times does affect attainment detrimentally, and the later the move within each Key Stage the greater the impact.
	We have no plans to commission research on the effect of high turnover in schools on social cohesion and family breakdown and the effective monitoring of vulnerable children.

Social Services: Haringey

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what assessments the  (a) Commission for Social Care Inspection and  (b) Ofsted has made of children's services in the London Borough of Haringey in each of the last six years;
	(2)  what assessment his Department has made of the way in which inspectorates responsible for children's services discharged their responsibilities in respect of the London Borough of Haringey's children's services.

Beverley Hughes: There have been a number of assessments and inspections of Haringey children's services by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) or Ofsted in the last six years. They include an inspection by Ofsted of the local education authority (published in January 2004), a joint area review of children's services by ten relevant inspectorates including Ofsted and CSCI (published in October 2006), a joint area review of safeguarding services for children by Ofsted, the Healthcare Commission and the chief inspector of constabulary (published in December 2008), a youth service inspection by Ofsted (published in October 2006), annual performance assessments of children's services by Ofsted and CSCI each year from 2005 (the latest, by Ofsted, published in November 2007), several inspections of the local authority fostering agency (the latest, by Ofsted, published in March 2008), and an inspection of the local authority adoption agency by CSCI (undertaken in 2005).
	Ofsted is an independent non-ministerial Government Department performing its duties on behalf of the Crown. Therefore, it is not the proper role of the Department to assess the way in which inspectorates responsible for children's services discharge their responsibilities.

Swimming

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families 
	(1)  what his estimate is of the percentage of  (a) primary and  (b) secondary school pupils who meet the standards outlined on swimming and water safety in the compulsory parts of the physical education curriculum;
	(2)  what guidance his Department provides to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority on who to consult ahead of changes made to standards in swimming under the curriculum.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The 2007/08 school sport survey found that, from a sample of 1,165 primary schools, 72 per cent. of pupils in year 6 were able to meet the minimum compulsory elements of the primary national curriculum related to swimming. There are no compulsory elements of the secondary national curriculum related to swimming.
	DCSF has given no guidance to the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) about swimming in the curriculum. In relation to the primary curriculum review, no guidance has been given to the QCA, or Sir Jim Rose, in relation to swimming. QCA are leading in providing evidence to the review and for managing wider stakeholder management.

Young People: Public Transport

Adrian Sanders: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will make it his policy to hold discussions with the Department for Transport on the cost of public transport for young people in areas where there are no local authority subsidies; and if he will make a statement.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: Through the joint Travel to School Initiative project DCSF and DfT officials regularly meet and are working closely on travel matters, encouraging children to travel sustainably (walking, cycling, using the bus and reducing car use).
	Local authorities (LAs) have to make transport arrangements where they consider it 'necessary' to secure a child's attendance at school. Where they consider transport 'necessary', it must be free of charge. LAs have wide discretion in deciding whether transport is necessary, but they must provide free home to school transport for pupils of compulsory school age who are attending their nearest suitable school, provided that the school is beyond the statutory walking distances (two miles for pupils below the age of eight and three miles for those aged eight and over).
	The Education and Inspections Act 2006 extended entitlement to free school travel for pupils entitled to free school meals or whose parents are in receipt of maximum working tax credit. Primary school pupils aged over eight have been entitled to free travel to their nearest school where this is more than two miles from their home. At secondary age (11-16), pupils attending a suitable school that is between two and six miles from the child's home, (as long as there are not more than three nearer schools) and those attending their nearest school preferred on the grounds of religion and belief, between two and 15 miles, have been entitled to free transport since September 2008.
	At present, there are no proposals to make concessionary travel a statutory entitlement for young people.
	Following the introduction of the national bus concession for older and eligible disabled people from April this year, the Government are spending around 1 billion a year on concessionary travel. Any extensions to the scope of the statutory minimum would bring with them associated costs and would require careful consideration of the full impacts. Research commissioned by the Department for Transport estimates that expending the statutory concession to 16 to 19-year-olds in full-time education could cost around 245 million per year, while concessionary travel to all young people under 19 and in full-time education could cost around 1.4 billion per year.
	At present, 48 per cent. of young people walk or cycle to school so a blanket concession could encourage young people who currently walk or cycle to take the bus. However, local authorities can use their existing powers to offer local concessionary travel to young people.
	Although the Government have no plans to make concessionary travel a statutory entitlement for young people, the Concessionary Bus Travel Act 2007 preserves the ability of local authorities to use their discretionary powers to create concessionary travel schemes for children and young people. Local authorities are best placed to know about local needs and circumstances, including any discounts bus operators offer at their commercial discretion. Many local authorities do offer some form of concession for young people.

Young, Gifted and Talented Programme

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families with reference to the answer of 7 November 2005,  Official Report, columns 118-21W, on gifted and talented youth, how many and what proportion of primary school pupils are participating in the Young, Gifted and Talented Programme, broken down by local authority area.

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: The information requested has been placed in the Libraries.